Why not? He said himself that this gave him a deeper understanding of the struggles of minority groups:<p><i>Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day.</i><p>Source: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.bloomberg.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;articles&#x2F;2014-10-30&#x2F;tim-cook-speaks-up" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.bloomberg.com&#x2F;news&#x2F;articles&#x2F;2014-10-30&#x2F;tim-cook-s...</a><p>I think it is relevant to the discussion, because I believe that this is a much deeper motivation than profit maximization. Though, there are of course many other ways to reach the conclusion that privacy is important.