Tim Cook Urges US Government To Step In Creating Policies Protecting User Privacy

The US Congress seems to be having a problem for years, passing a federal data privacy law. However, on Friday, lawmakers got an unexpected ally in the person of Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook. Tech companies are doing a poor job at developing policies that protect the privacy of users, says Apple CEO.

In a recent interview with ABC News, the Apple CEO reveals that tech giants have not straightened their errors in the past, and it is high time that the US government steps in ideally in coming up with a federal bill. We can admit that when you have attempted to do something, and it turned out that the companies have not self-policed, it is high time to have a strict regulation, Cook explains.

Although many are focused on breaking tech companies like the social networking giant Facebook into various individual smaller entities, the Apple CEO says regulators are too concerned about antitrust action and not on data privacy. It is pointless to break tech companies without paying closer attention to how much user data is being collected; Cook points out. And, unless you take action where there is significantly less data in the companies that are left, you have not done anything at all, the CEO underlines.

The recent news surfaced as giant tech companies like Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Apple face countless antitrust investigations from the US Justice Department and several state attorney generals. These companies are accused of anti-competitive business practices that might have compromised consumers’ welfare. The Apple executive admitted that should one company found to be a monopoly and regulators have evidence that there is an abuse of that power, then a breakup might be needed.

Meanwhile, Tim Cook was recently under fire following US President Donald Trump ‘s visit to Mac plant in Texas. Trump claimed that he just opened the Mac plant, which has been operating since 2013. Critics call out Cook for allowing trump’s lie to slide and being the US president’s prop for electioneering.