Tim Cook delivered an opening keynote at the EU data protection conference CPDP today, and he talked about several issues, including criticizing Facebook's business model. He talked about how "A path to empowering user choice and boosting user trust in advertising.” Cook also talked about APple's concern about privacy and security in the technology industry, hoping that it would change going forward. In addition to that, Cook also talked about what Apple is doing to protect the privacy and its deep concerns and consequences with the business model that Facebook is currently adhering to.
Tim Cook Gives an Engaging Keynote, Talking About Various Issues Regarding Security and Privacy in the Tech Industry and Speaking Against Facebook's Business Model
Tim Cook touched on several issues Apple looks at regarding privacy and security that spans the entire industry. He talks about how people are no longer customers anymore, but rather the product that businesses are selling to the advertisers.
This is what Cook had to say,
As I’ve said before, if we accept as normal and unavoidable that everything in our lives can be aggregated and sold, we lose so much more than data, we lose the freedom to be human. And yet, this is a hopeful new season, a time of thoughtfulness and reform.
Cook also praised GDPR for being the most concrete progress in consumer privacy and security and talked about how it is time for the U.S. and the rest of the world to walk towards similar legislation.
Tim Cook made the point that advertisement has thrived for decades without personal privacy invasion and talks about how Apple's recent privacy features like privacy nutrition labels and upcoming ad tracking and transparency feature.
While Cook did avoid naming Facebook explicitly, he condemned the business model that any engagement is good engagement and capturing as much user data as possible.
If a business is built on misleading users, on data exploitation, on choices that are no choices at all, it does not deserve our praise, it deserves reform.
In addition to that, he also said,
Too many are still asking the question, “how much can we get away with?” when they should be asking “what are the consequences?”
Cook is certain that adhering to this approach to technology is going to take us towards the polarization of society, loss of any trust, and violence.
As opposed to Facebook and others' approach, Tim Cook talked about how Apple sees as ethical technology.
At Apple, we made our choice a long time ago. We believe that ethical technology is technology that works for you. It’s technology that helps you sleep, not keeps you up. It tells you when you’ve had enough, it gives you space to create, or draw, or write or learn, not refresh just one more time. It’s technology that can fade into the background when you’re on a hike or going for a swim but is there to warn you when your heart rate spikes or help you when you’ve had a nasty fall. And with all of this, always, it’s privacy and security first, because no-one needs to trade away the rights of their users to deliver a great product.
During his keynote speech, Cook made several points, and almost everything he has said made sense from a consumer's point and a tech enthusiast. Granted, many would point fingers at Apple for not being the most honest company, but it is more about what Apple is trying to do to change the situation.
Facebook has been in the hot water for a number of reasons associated with breach of privacy, with one of the most recent ones being the new WhatsApp privacy policy that mandates data sharing with Facebook, without anyway of opting out of it.
You can check the full speech from Cook below.
