Tim Cook calls for US Privacy Laws to stop the "Data Industrial Complex"

[DrMacintosh]

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Apple CEO Tim Cook has called for a tough new U.S. data protection law to protect user privacy rights in the face of a growing "data industrial complex," in a passionately delivered speech in Europe. 

 

Cook argued for the law during a keynote speech given today at the 40th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners (ICDPPC), which is being held in Brussels. The following quotes were published by TechCrunch. 

It has been known for some time that, at least in the US, Apple has been an industry leader in the field of consumer privacy. Unfortunately in some countries, like China and in some places in the EU, Apple has been unable to legally protect user data. Apple, appears to want to prevent the United States from forcing Apple into a position in which they would ave to compromise on their principles. 

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"Our own information — from the everyday to the deeply personal — is being weaponized against us with military efficiency," warned Cook. "These scraps of data, each one harmless enough on its own, are carefully assembled, synthesized, traded and sold. 

"Taken to the extreme this process creates an enduring digital profile and lets companies know you better than you may know yourself. Your profile is a bunch of algorithms that serve up increasingly extreme content, pounding our harmless preferences into harm." 

"We shouldn't sugarcoat the consequences. This is surveillance," he added.

 

This year you've shown the world that good policy and political will can come together to protect the rights of everyone," he said. "It is time for the rest of the world, including my home country, to follow your lead. We in Apple are in full support of a comprehensive federal privacy law in the United States."

Cook actually commended the GDPR but as stated, some times consumers are not protected like Apple believes that they should.

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In his speech, Cook also drew on Apple's privacy-first approach to artificial intelligence in contrast to other tech giants, and said he felt the technology held great promise to benefit humanity, but warned that "advancing AI by collecting huge personal profiles is laziness, not efficiency." 

This is a comment directed toward those who see Siri and being behind the pack in terms of AI intelligence, but there is a reason for that

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"For artificial intelligence to be truly smart it must respect human values — including privacy. If we get this wrong, the dangers are profound. We can achieve both great artificial intelligence and great privacy standards. It is not only a possibility — it is a responsibility.”

Apple does not believe that in order to improve on AI they must harvest user data. Apple doesn't need to track you and send your location data back to them with identifiers that can be tied back to you in order to be able to tell you that there is a cool Diner near by. 

 

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In closing, the Apple CEO criticized tech companies who "endorse reform in public and then resist and undermine it behind closed doors." He added: "It's time to face facts. We will never achieve technology's true potential without the full faith and confidence of the people who use it." 

This to me sounds like a direct jab at Google, a company that acts like they are on the side of consumer privacy but there business model is completely contrarian to that position. 

 

In the end it would seem that Apple's dedication to privacy is still at the foundation of Apples principles and that they will continue to advocate for protecting consumers whenever they can. Good job Apple

 

Sources: https://www.macrumors.com/2018/10/24/tim-cook-wants-us-privacy-law-protect-users-data/

 

[Guest]

Saw this on the old twitter this morning. Great stuff. Hopefully this will develop more discussion on privacy and put an end to all this telemetry hoohah 

[captain_to_fire]

22 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

Apple, appears to want to prevent the United States from forcing Apple into a position in which they would ave to compromise on their principles. 

http://www.unhcr.org/innovation/digital-geneva-convention-mean-future-humanitarian-action/

[Jito463]

27 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

Apple's dedication to privacy

[Granular]

49 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

Apple, appears to want to prevent the United States from forcing Apple into a position in which they would ave to compromise on their principles.

Did you not see the Apple logo in the 'Filthy, traitorous collaborators' part of the PRISM slides?

53 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

Unfortunately in some countries, like China and in some places in the EU, Apple has been unable to legally protect user data.

Oh, it has been able to. It just wouldn't give up the lucrative monopoly on iOS apps to do it, so that users could install VPN apps and keyboards that don't rat them out to communists from 3rd parties.

 

56 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

In the end it would seem that Apple's dedication to privacy is still at the foundation of Apples principles and that they will continue to advocate for protecting consumers whenever they can.

Or at Apple themselves, criticizing Google in speeches, then taking their money to ship Google's data harvesting search on their devices.