Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

Cook: Apple has no interest in gathering user data

The Apple CEO said that Apple’s business is ‘not based on having information’ about its users and that government agencies don’t have back door access to its servers.

APPLE’S PRIVACY AND security has been in the firing line for the past month. After questions were asked of iCloud after nude photos of celebrities were taken and published on online forums, the focus is now on Apple Pay, the company’s new mobile payments service.

In an interview with Charlie Rose, Apple CEO Tim Cook says that the company is not interested in obtaining and amassing information about its users.

Our business is based on selling these [iPhones]. Our business is not based on having information about you. You’re not our product. Our product are these, and this watch, and Macs and so forth. And so we run a very different company.
I think everyone has to ask ‘how do companies make their money? Follow the money, and if they’re making money mainly by collecting gobs of personal data, I think you have a right to be worried and you should really understand what’s happening to that data, and the companies, I think, should be very transparent about it.

Cook mentioned that when the company creates a product, it “tries not to collect data.

“We’re not reading your email, we’re not reading your iMessage”, he said, adding that claims that government agencies had a “back door” to its servers were false.

However, he expects the debate on privacy and security to be a “key topic over the next year or so” as data companies like Google and Amazon face increased scrutiny.

The Charlie Rose Show / YouTube

Read: Google wants to test drones that could bring internet access to remote areas >

Read: Do you know what apps have access to your Facebook info? You might want to check >

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
14 Comments
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
    JournalTv
    News in 60 seconds