Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook took a stab at Facebook (FB) and Google (GOOG,GOOGL) over user privacy on Monday.
The Apple CEO spoke at nonprofit research center EPIC’s Champions of Freedom event in Washington via a video feed while staying in Silicone Valley. In his speech, he said that customer privacy, security and encryption needed to be defended and hinted at several companies and the government for not wanting to do so, reports TechCrunch.
Cook didn’t name Facebook and Google during his speech, but he made it apparent what companies he was talking about. He specifically mentioned those that offer free services to users in exchange for their data, photos and other information that can be sold to advertisers, TehcCrunch notes.
“It is encouraging to see Apple making the claim that they collect less information on us than their competitors,” Dr Richard Tynan, a technologist at Privacy International, told BBC. “However, we have yet to see verifiable evidence of the implementation of these claims with regard to their hardware, firmware, software or online services.”
