“Our personal information is being used as a weapon against us!” Apple CEO Tim Cook gave an impassioned speech at a data privacy conference in Brussels. He repeated some of the themes that have come up in recent years, such as Apple’s emphasis on and protection of users’ privacy, while also addressing public concerns about data collection, surveillance and manipulation in recent years. Mr Cook called for new personal data protection laws in the US, saying that private and everyday information was being weaponised as a result of modern technology. The vast amount of personal data that companies collect and use to manipulate their users. “This is surveillance!” he added. “It doesn’t just affect individuals, it affects society as a whole.” Cook did not address what caused the crisis, but his comments were a clear reference to a series of recent data breaches, such as the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which a consulting firm collected personal data from millions of Facebook users in an effort to sway their political views. Cook also did not name any specific companies during his speech, but criticized the advertising-based business models of companies that he said “value profit over privacy.”


Figure | cook (ICDPPC) in international data protection and privacy committee meeting (source: arstechnica)

“Computing platforms and algorithms designed to improve our lives actually magnify our bad intentions,” Cook said. Some use users’ trust to deepen divisions, incite violence, and even undermine our understanding of good and evil. These risks are not imaginary or exaggerated, “said Cook, who has advocated strict standards on data privacy and called for tighter federal oversight of data privacy. Alastair MacTaggart, an American privacy activist, pushed through a landmark data-privacy law in California. MacTaggart said there has been a “180 degree u-turn” among tech companies. A year ago they were pushing for self-regulation, but now they want federal rules to be as weak as possible on privacy. In his speech, he praised the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This requires companies to use the most effective measures possible to protect users’ privacy when collecting their information. The rules also impose fines of up to 4% of global revenues on companies that misuse user data. Cook said Apple strongly supports a comprehensive federal privacy law in the United States. He outlined four key rights that data privacy legislation should include: 1. The right to minimize personal data; 2. Users have the right to know what data tech companies collect; 3. Users have access to the collected data; Companies should recognize that data belongs to users and make it easy for users to access, correct and delete their personal data. 4. The right of data to be stored safely. In the US, there has been widespread criticism of data privacy legislation, arguing that such regulation is a barrier to technological innovation. “That’s wrong,” Cook countered. The potential of technology comes from people trusting it, and everything must be rooted in that.”

reference​www.theverge.com