Tim Cook on why Apple banished Alex Jones: he sucks

Tim Cook explained quite simply why Apple removed from its directories most of the podcasts and an application of founder and leader Alex Jones of Infowars, triggering a chain of events that resulted in it. total or partial prohibition of conspiracy theory. Major Web Platform: Everyone can agree that Jones is terrible.

In an interview with Vice News tonightShe Reeve, Cook, said that getting rid of Jones' content was a matter of curating content and reassuring users that humans were actually paying attention to what was in Apple's content ecosystem. He also denied that the company reacts to any kind of political pressure or has coordinated its response with leaders of other technology companies.

"What users expect from us and we've always provided them with is an organized platform," Cook told Reeve. "We think that what the user wants, is somebody who is looking at these apps, whoever is looking at podcasts, whoever, for example, goes into Apple news, when a human selects the best articles. And that's what we do. "

"We do not take a political stance," continued Cook. "We are not leaning in one way or another. You can see from the items available on the App Store, in podcasts, etc., you'll see everything from the most conservative to the most liberal. And that's what I think it should be.

Pressed at the exact moment when he decided that Jones should leave, Cook replied, "You know, I do not really engage in any particular type of event. But I think there is enough for reasonable people to agree that if you want to be a curator, it should be disabled.

"We have an application called Safari," Cook added. "Safari is the app for you if you want to watch everything on the free and open Internet that is not on our app store."

Cook, the CEO of a $ 1 trillion company, is in the habit of denying that Apple plays politics – and despite tons of evidence to the contrary, it does not really do it. more. It is fair to say that the company's decision to exhaust Jones was inherently both a business decision and a political statement, allowing Apple to position itself along with other companies such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter all seemed to worry about their potential. consequences and trampling of eggs on everything related to Infowars. But since all of these companies have seized on Apple's movement as an opportunity to finally tear off the bandage and the consequences have been the consequences for Jones, it's probably also fair to say that the fear of any reaction was a little exaggerated.

Elsewhere in the interview, Cook has criticized other technology companies for collecting large amounts of user data under misleading pretenses. The CEO called for regulation, adding, "The story that some companies will try to make you believe is:" I have to use all your data to improve my services. "Well, do not believe it. Whoever tells you, it's a bunch of hogwarts. (Note that a recent congressional hearing bringing together leaders of six technology giants, including Apple, did not want to go as far as to seek monetary penalties or a thorough review like the one of the European Union Protection Regulations.)

Mr. Cook also defended Apple against accusations that its activities in China could make it a de facto partner of censors, preventing government officials from accessing data from users stored in the country more easily or its encryption standards are different.