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In leaked memo, Tim Cook says leakers do not belong inside Apple

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Following leaks about his all-hands Apple meeting about pay equity, Tim Cook has told staff that the company does not "tolerate disclosures of confidential information."

Immediately after Apple's Sept. 17 all-hands meeting, Tim Cook's comments were leaked to the press. Subsequently, Cook issued a memo about his "frustration" at how confidential meetings, and product news, are being leaked.

That email has now also been leaked. It includes Cook saying that whether it's regarding a private meeting, or is a leaked detail about a product, "people who leak confidential information do not belong here."

The full email, as first seen by The Verge, reads:

Dear Team,

It was great to connect with you at the global employee meeting on Friday. There was much to celebrate, from our remarkable new product line-up to our values driven work around climate change, racial equity, and privacy. It was a good opportunity to reflect on our many accomplishments and to have a discussion about what's been on your mind.

I'm writing today because I've heard from so many of you were were incredibly frustrated to see the contents of the meeting leak to reporters. This comes after a product launch in which most of the details of our announcements were also leaked to the press.

I want you to know that I share your frustration. These opportunities to connect as a team are really important. But they only work if we can trust that the content will stay within Apple. I want to reassure you that we are doing everything in our power to identify those who leaked. As you know, we do not tolerate disclosures of confidential information, whether it's product IP or the details of a confidential meeting. We know that the leakers constitute a small number of people. We also know that people who leak confidential information do not belong here.

As we look forward, I want to thank you for all you've done to make our products a reality and all you will do to get them into customers' hands. Yesterday we released iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8, and Friday marks the moment when we share some of our incredible new products with the world. There's nothing better than that. We'll continue to measure our contributions in the lives we change, the connections we foster, and the work we do to leave the world a better place.

Thank you,

Tim

Cook's claim that Apple is "doing everything in our power" to identify leakers is not new. As far back as 2012, Cook said that Apple was going to "double down" on secrecy and protecting its information.