Apple CEO calls for technology regulation as it can cause ‘great damage to society’

In a recently held conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook talked about data regulation among many other things, warning that if technology is not regulated, it can cause serious damage to the society.

At the Time 100 Summit, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that for an average person to have their data privacy protected, the government needs to regulate technology. “We all have to be intellectually honest, and we have to admit that what we’re doing isn’t working. Technology needs to be regulated. There are now too many examples where the ‘no rails’ have resulted in a great damage to society.”

Cook mentioned that as compared to the US, Europe’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), which was meant to provide consumers greater control over their data, was a good first step, though it still doesn’t go far enough, whereas he is still skeptical of the US, reported CNBC.

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“I’m not confident, is the short version of the statement,” Cook said. “I think this an example where Europe is more likely to come up with something. GDPR isn’t ideal but GDPR is a step in the right direction.”

Moreover, talking about how people are glued to their smartphones these days, Cook believes that they should get off their iPhones and decrease their engagement with apps. He said that Apple didn’t intend for people to be constantly using their iPhones, also mentioning that he himself has silenced his push notifications lately, while encouraging others to do the same too, as per Tech Crunch.

“Apple never wanted to maximize user time. We’ve never been about that,” Cook explained. “If you’re looking at your phone more than you’re looking at people’s eyes, you’re doing the wrong thing. We don’t want people using their phones all the time. This has never been an objective for us.”