Tim Cook calls for stronger regulations on privacy issues, such as the recent Facebook case

As we cover, Tim Cook this year co-president of China Development Forum. We are talking about an annual meeting to promote dialogue between the Chinese government and global business leaders, and it has a constant exchange of presidents in the hall of those who have already passed the chair, we have executives like Mark Fields (Ford CEO) and Doug Oberhelman (Caterpillar chief executive).

And, participating in the event, the Apple CEO took the opportunity to talk a little about the polemics of the last weeks involving the Facebook. As we know, Apple (in principle or for marketing reasons) is a staunch privacy defender. Precisely for this reason, Cook's statement is not surprising: when asked about the matter, the executive basically asked for stronger privacy regulations, that user information be gathered and used in new ways without people's knowledge.

I think this situation is so terrible and it has become so big that probably some well-drafted regulation is necessary. The ability for anyone to know what you've been browsing for years, who your contacts are, who their contacts are, things you like and dislike, and all the intimate details of your life from my own point of view , it shouldn't exist.

() We worry that, for several years and in many countries, people were sharing their data probably without knowing what they were doing and that these detailed profiles were being built, that one day something would happen and people would be incredibly offended by what was done without them knowing it. Unfortunately, this prediction has come true more than once.

Because of the subject, John Gruber (from Daring Fireball) rescued a video of interest, which features Steve Jobs attending the D8: All Things Digital technology conference. Interviewers Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher then ask the late ex-Apple CEO for his opinion on privacy.

Check it out below:

Privacy means that people know what they're signing up for. In Portuguese clearly and repeatedly. That's what it means. I am an optimist. I believe that people are smart. And some people want to share more data than others. Ask them. Ask them every time. Make them tell you to stop asking if they are tired of asking them. Let them know exactly what you are going to do with their data. That's what (we at Apple) think.

As I said above, regardless of whether it is a principle or a marketing issue, it is a fact that Apple's position has been the same for years, since it was commanded by Jobs.

Talking about the China Development Forum itself, it is taking place amid growing fears of a literally trade war between the US and China. For that reason, Cook talked about it and said he hoped that "calm heads" will prevail.

For him, in the history of the relationship between countries, there were cases in which they were not benefited in an equal way. Still, Cook expects the leaders of both countries to be able to act rationally.

Regarding Apple's relationship with China (mainly the issue of migrating iCloud data from Chinese to a government-controlled server in the country), Cook said that “companies should engage with governments in countries where they are doing business, agreeing or disagreeing ”.

via Bloomberg, Reuters