Apple CEO criticizes companies that profit from user data

"If a business is based on deceiving users, on data exploitation, then it does not deserve our praise, it deserves reform," said Tim Cook.

The iPhone maker is rolling out new privacy features that restrict the way mobile apps collect data about users to target ads.

Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook criticized the tech giants for “data mining” and called for reform around the practices of selling user data to target ads.

The iPhone maker is rolling out new privacy features that restrict the way mobile apps like those from Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google collect data about users to target ads.

"If a business is based on deceiving users, on data exploitation, on options that are not options at all, then it does not deserve our praise, it deserves reform," Cook said Thursday in the virtual version of Computers Privacy & Data Protection Conference.

Without naming specific companies, Cook criticized company algorithms for perpetuating the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories in order to attract users. He warned that those systems have the power to degrade the social fabric.

"The time has come to stop pretending that this has nothing to do with polarization, loss of trust, and, yes, violence," Cook said, alluding to the recent attacks on the US Capitol.

Apple's chief executive also reiterated calls for privacy law in the US very similar to the General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union. He said it was time for global laws and new international agreements that "enshrine the principle of data minimization, user awareness and data security around the world."

Following an update to Apple's iPhone and iPad operating system software this spring, users will be asked to explicitly allow or deny developers the ability to track their data through apps or websites.

Many consumers are expected to choose to deny it, making it difficult for apps to serve ads to users based on their previous online activity, causing annoyance from Facebook and other advertising companies that rely on those capabilities.

In one-page newspaper ads, the social network attacked Apple in December over the plans, arguing that the features would hurt small businesses, while on Wednesday, Facebook told analysts that changes to iOS could slow the growth of its income. A group of French online advertisers filed an antitrust complaint against Apple last fall, warning that publishers' ad revenue could drop as much as 50% as a result of the update.

Apple says the features will give users more transparency about how their data is used, and in a way that still allows advertising.