Tim Cook Takes A Shot At Android While Slamming Facebook

The storm that Facebook has found itself in, a storm of its own making, has sent ripples throughout the country and the world, touching not just politics or laws but, unsurprisingly, technology as well. As tech giants are called upon to take a stance, Apple lost no time in reiterating how it has always taken a firm stance on privacy and security. And in an interview with MSNBC, CEO Tim Cook unsurprisingly also took the opportunity to contrast its approach to that of its biggest rival, Google's Android.

Cook says he would have never been in the situation that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg now faces. The company and its founder is now facing not just lawsuits but several government inquiries over its handling, or mishandling rather, of users' data. While Facebook may not have been directly involved, it allegedly knew of the security and privacy problems in its third-party app ecosystem that eventually led to the Cambridge Analytica fiasco.

Cook blames part of that on the way Facebook and, by extension Google, handle their app stores. Apple is both known and notorious for manually and individually screening every piece of content that goes into its store, be it apps, music, or videos. It gives the Apple stores an image of quality control, where Apple is able to ensure that nothing gets through that doesn't pass its standards.

Of course, some do point out how those standards may not always be in the best interest of parties other than Apple. And Apple has often changed those policies in ways that left developers and users out in the cold. That said, there is at least a level of assurance that Apple won't do anything that will actually harm its brand the way Facebook has.

During the MSNBC interview, Tim Cook also reiterated how the iPhone is really built in the US, or at least most of its parts, while only seeing the final assembly in China. It was a reaction to the rising scrutiny against Chinese companies in the US, affecting even those with close ties or dependence on Chinese goods and labor.