Albo wanders into Tim Apple’s place to fix the internet

There was something almost The Truman Show- esque about Anthony Albanese’s Californian morning at Apple Park.

The prime minister had travelled to the heart of Silicon Valley to meet Tim Cook – or, as Donald Trump once called him, “Tim Apple” – and spruik Australia’s world-leading crackdown on social media for under-16s.

If only Ed Harris had wandered into shot to tell him the whole thing was a set.

Instead, there was the enormous circular Apple “Spaceship” headquarters with its carbon-sink oak forest across 70 hectares, with olive groves, roaming coyotes, gleaming glass and enough security to ensure the travelling journalists only saw precisely the parts of the $5 billon compound that Apple wanted them to see.

The media pack was briefly allowed inside the foyer for a child-friendly product demonstration of Apple’s latest products, including the new foldable Duo phone. (Just $3499 if you’re curious.)

But the meeting was off limits. No cameras nor photographs, not even pictures of the buildings or Apple employees. The journalists could look, but they could not record. Not even a sighting of the cult leader.

Welcome to Tim Apple’s world, complete with the Steve Jobs Memorial Theatre.

Albanese spent an hour behind closed doors with Cook and the Apple executive team, continuing a relationship that began when the Apple boss called him in June to discuss the company’s new child-safety controls .

Cook had told Albanese the changes were partly inspired by Australia’s world-leading social media age ban, as well as Apple’s own research into the effects of social media on children.

Now the bromance was rekindled at Apple Park. Tech brothers from another mother.

Cook later posted that he was grateful to welcome @AlboMP to Apple Park to discuss the company’s “longstanding commitment to Australia” and its latest innovations to help keep children safe online.

Albanese, who rarely meets a celebrity without an obligatory for a selfie, was even more effusive.

He said it was a “proud moment” to have the head of a company that had “changed the world” recognise Australia’s leadership in protecting children from the negative consequences of technology.

Apple’s new controls allow parents to limit the time children spend on particular apps and devices, restrict who can message them and introduce other safeguards.