“Too may are still asking the question ‘how much can we get away with?’ when we should be asking ‘what are the consequences?’ What are the consequences of not just tolerating but rewarding content that undermines public trust in life-saving vaccinations? What are the consequences of seeing thousands of users join extremist groups and then perpetuating an algorithm that recommends more?” he said Thursday.
Speaking at a virtually held International Conference on Computers, Privacy & Data Protection, Cook said it’s “time to stop pretending that this approach doesn’t come with a cost” — of polarization, lost trust and “yes, of violence.”
“A social dilemma cannot be allowed to become a social catastrophe,” he added, referring to the Netflix documentary about technology’s — and especially social media’s — corrosive effects on society.
Apple is getting ready to to roll out a new privacy control in the early spring to prevent iPhone apps from secretly shadowing people. That puts the feature on course to come out after a more than six-month delay aimed at placating Facebook and other digital services that depend on such data surveillance to help sell ads.
