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Tim Cook to talk consumer privacy and data ethics at European data protection conference later this month

Apple CEO Tim Cook is set to be the keynote speaker at a European data protection conference taking place in Brussels later this month. The EU recently introduced a new data protection framework, GDPR, and some U.S lawmakers are now questioning whether or not we’ll see a similar stance in the United States.

As reported by TechCrunch, Europe’s data protection commissioners will be gathering during a week this month to discuss GDPR and what it plans for the future. They will also gather to hear Cook talk data protection and data ethics.

Of course, most Apple fans know that Cook and Apple have been publicly talking about privacy for many years. Apple believes privacy is a fundamental human right, and that it is one of the bigger issues in the 21st century. The company has gone as far as testify in front of the U.S senate arguing in favor of a federal privacy legislation, which would bring similar benefits to Europe’s GDPR laws.

In a few weeks’ time Cook will literally stand alongside the architects of Europe’s GDPR, talking up privacy and ethics at the center of a Union whose founding charter grants its citizens data protection as a fundamental right.

They are most interested in seeing Cook’s angle on privacy and protecting consumer data, especially when fighting against countries such as China which is notoriously known for its lack of strong privacy laws.

It’s clear as the first trillion-dollar company in America that a business can be successful while still being privacy-oriented. Other tech brands such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon are notoriously known for collecting gobs of user data to “make the experience better”. However, Apple has proven time and time again that this can be done with collecting minimal to no user data.


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