Apple

Apple CEO Tim Cook is creeped out by ads that follow him around the internet

by Alan Friedman / Apr 07, 2018, 1:28 AM

Apple CEO Tim Cook is creeped out by ads that follow him around the internet

Late last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook commented on the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal. When asked what he would do if he were Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Cook replied, "I wouldn’t be in this situation." He later stated, "We could make a ton of money if our customer was our product. We've elected not to do that." Zuckerberg hit back calling the Apple executive's comments "extremely glib."

On Friday, Cook was interviewed on MSNBC and said that online ads that follow users around the internet are creepy. He said, "To me it's creepy when I look at something and all of a sudden it's chasing me all the way across the web. I don't like that." The CEO also called privacy a "human right," and said that he is concerned with the way advertisers and others can gain access to personal data.

Cook said during the interview that when Apple repatriates the $300 billion it holds overseas, it will pay $38 billion in taxes. The company will also invest $30 billion in the states during the next five years by building a new campus and creating 30,000 new jobs. Over the next five years, Cook says that with the amount of money that Apple expects to spend, sales taxes paid on purchased Apple products, and taxes on employees' wages, Apple will contribute $350 billion to the U.S. economy.

The executive also said that he is personally offended by the repeal of DACA and he defended Apple's curation of the App Store. The executive said, "We curate. We believe that ... we don't want porn on our App Store. .. We want families to be able to feel comfortable there. ... We don't want hate speech on our App Store, right? And we don't want the ability to recruit terrorists on the App Store." He says that AI and robots will end up replacing humans in many jobs, and he once again stated that he is a huge fan of AR.

"We curate. We believe that...we don't want porn on our App Store...We want families to be able to feel comfortable there...We don't want hate speech on our App Store, right? And we don't want the ability to recruit terrorists on the App Store...And so, we're looking at every app in detail, what is it doing, is it doing what it's saying it's doing, is it meeting the privacy policy that they're stating, right? And so, we're always looking at that. Should we raise the bar even more? We're always looking at improving and raising the bar. But we do carefully review each app and police now. And we don't subscribe to the view that you have to let everybody in that wants to or if you don't, you don't believe in free speech."-Tim Cook, CEO, Apple

Cook was interviewed for a program called Revolution: Apple Changing the World. The interview was recorded the day after Apple's March 27th education event. During the event, Apple introduced its new sixth-generation iPad that supports the Apple Pencil.

source: MSNBC, CNET

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42 Comments

1. dimas

Posts: 3423; Member since: Jul 22, 2014

Tim got me laughing. A pot calling kettle black.

posted on Apr 07, 2018, 2:29 AM 21

2. kiko007

Posts: 7521; Member since: Feb 17, 2016

Ummm... that saying doesn't mean what you think it means.

posted on Apr 07, 2018, 3:28 AM 5

29. Finalflash

Posts: 4063; Member since: Jul 23, 2013

Or maybe you don't. For a company that had it's own cloud service compromised (because of ineptitude, it wasn't even a hack) and one that willingly shares private user data with governments (authoritarian or otherwise), he sure has a lot of balls to claim any high ground when it comes to privacy. "Privacy is a human right", unless you're Chinese. Also, lets not forget that Apple immediately signed up for Prism after Jobs' death, courtesy of chairman Cook. Sadly, iFans will usually never admit when something wrong. Whether it is getting their devices crippled on purpose, or defending a smart speaker that isn't smart, or corporate sponsored trampling of human rights, iFans just don't care as long as it has Apples drawn on it.

posted on Apr 07, 2018, 12:34 PM 6

35. sgodsell

Posts: 7605; Member since: Mar 16, 2013

Apple holding onto every users Siri requests for 2 years. https://www.wired.com/2013/04/siri-two-years/ Tim should not be talking about others.

posted on Apr 07, 2018, 4:15 PM 3

36. NarutoKage14

Posts: 1348; Member since: Aug 31, 2016

Doesn't Apple have an advertisement service that does exactly that? What a troll.

posted on Apr 07, 2018, 6:00 PM 3

12. lyndon420

Posts: 6898; Member since: Jul 11, 2012

Right?! We respect privacy...now give us your fingerprint and a 3D map of your face - and your credit card info.

posted on Apr 07, 2018, 7:38 AM 7

45. T12RYK

Posts: 849; Member since: Jun 10, 2011

Your stupidity seems to know no bounds! Do some research about TouchID and FaceID before commenting before making a complete and utter fool of yourself please.