Court Exhibit·10 JAN 2013
Turn a Competitor's Weakness Into Your Positioning Strategy
When a rival's business model forces them to behave in ways users dislike, that tension is your product opportunity.
Source document — Email from Eddy Cue to Tim Cook: Competing on Privacy (January 10, 2013) · United States v. Google LLC (Search) · 1:20-cv-03010 (DCD), Trial Ex. UPX0790 — DOJ public archive (page 1)
Excerpt · In Eddy Cue's own words
Here is the latest slides we have on privacy. Still a lot more work to do but good start. We can share this with Al on Fri. If we do, I can have Eric Albert and Jane Horvath present it as they did the work. Let me know if you would like to do that.
The attached deck, titled "Competing on Privacy" (January 2013), was marked Privileged & Confidential and accompanied by a slide quoting Google CEO Eric Schmidt at the 2010 Washington Ideas Forum: "Google's policy is to get right up to the creepy line but not cross it. I would argue that implanting things in your brain is beyond the creepy line. At least for the moment, until the technology gets better." The document also references Microsoft's approach to privacy defaults, noting that automatic privacy settings "would make it tougher for Microsoft to profit from selling online ads" — framing privacy as a competitive differentiator rather than merely a compliance concern.
The daily letter · Free
This edition is for members — but the daily letter is free.
One real corporate email, and the lesson it teaches, in your inbox every weekday morning. Free. Unsubscribe in one click.
How this surfaced
- Source type
- Court Exhibit
- Case / record
- United States v. Google LLC (Search)
- Citation
- 1:20-cv-03010 (DCD), Trial Ex. UPX0790 — DOJ public archive
- Date authored
- January 10, 2013
- License
- Public domain
- Original
- View the primary source →
More from Phil Schiller
Matt Fischer ·Apple Inc. ·21 AUG 2018
When Your Pricing Faces Pushback, Negotiate Before You Lose the Deal
The moment your partners consistently refuse your terms, you have two choices: lose them or adapt — and waiting too long to decide is its own decision.
Tim Sweeney ·Epic Games ·30 JUN 2020
How to Frame a Demand as a Favor to Customers
When you can't beat a gatekeeper on their terms, reframe the fight as being about their customers, not you.
Tim Sweeney ·Epic Games ·17 JUL 2020
How to Signal a Legal Fight Before You File One
When a business dispute stops being about money and starts being about principle, the other side's lawyers are no longer the audience — the public and the courts are.
Anthony Levandowski & Suzy Sammons ·Uber ·28 MAR 2017
Levandowski and Uber Coordinate Messaging Days Before His Firing
This internal email captures Anthony Levandowski, at the center of the most significant trade-secret lawsuit in autonomous-vehicle history, calmly dividing talking points with Uber colleagues just weeks before he was pushed out of the company.
Travis Kalanick & David Drummond ·Uber / Google ·7 MAR 2015
When Your Partner Stops Taking Meetings, Believe the Silence
A calendar tells you more about a partnership than any press release ever will.
Ed Baker & Jessica E. Lessin ·Uber ·26 DEC 2014
When Your Investor Becomes Your Biggest Competitor
The moment a board member starts leaving the room, the partnership is already over — the question is just who moves first.