Apple chief Tim Cook warns of data weaponisation

The head of Apple has endorsed tough privacy laws for both Europe and the US and renewed the technology giant’s commitment to protecting users’ personal data.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook also warned that personal data is being “weaponised” against users, in comments at an international conference on data privacy in Brussels on Wednesday.

Mr Cook applauded European Union authorities for bringing in a strict new data privacy law this year.

He said the company fully supports a comprehensive federal privacy law for the United States.

Mr Cook’s remarks, along with comments later from Google and Facebook, in the European Union’s home base in Brussels, underscore how the US tech giants are jostling to curry favour in the region as regulators tighten their scrutiny.