Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Apple’s Tim Cook slams lax U.S. data-protection laws

Apple is taking a strong stand on an issue integral to its core business: stronger data protection laws for U.S. consumers.

CEO Tim Cook was the messenger for Apple’s advocacy, which leant authenticity to the move, given his long history of supporting privacy. He issued his call for tighter security in a speech to the 40th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners.

TechCrunch reported:

“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.

Consumers want their favorite organizations to take a stand on important issues. Companies such as Patagonia and REI have seen success advocating for natural conservation efforts. Others win fans by providing aid during hurricanes or highlighting diversity and inclusion efforts.

For tech customers (which is basically everyone), data protection and security has become a hot topic as major companies have fallen prey to hackers. Data broker Equifax was the victim of the biggest data breach in history in 2017. Facebook enraged customers when it revealed data was misused in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

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An homage to Ike

Cook hoped to highlight the dangers posed by the greater data industry by coining them the “data industrial complex,” an allusion to the “military industrial complex” that President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned about in his farewell address.

TechCrunch noted that Cook didn’t point a finger at other Silicon Valley companies, specifically Google and Facebook, which greatly profit as data brokers.

The speech was shared on YouTube:

Apple also has a history of advocating for data privacy and protection.

CNBC reported:

Apple has long positioned itself as a protector of user privacy, notably declining to cooperate with the FBI in 2016 when authorities sought to unlock an encrypted iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino shooters.

While Facebook and Google have faced scrutiny this year for their data collection practices, Cook has sought to position Apple as the face of “responsible tech,” adding more privacy controls for users, including secure password management; and bolstering its intelligent tracking feature in Safari, preventing companies from tracking users as they browse the internet.

Tweeted excerpts

Cook also shared parts of his speech on Twitter, notably his endorsement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), adopted this year by the European Union:

Mixed responses

Some weren’t ready to see Apple—or its CEO—as an ethical beacon:

Privacy advocates have applauded the speech, urging other companies to follow suit:

The speech was received with guarded optimism at the event:

What do you think of Cook’s call for a U.S. version of the GDPR?

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