Apple CEO takes aim at Facebook over privacy

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is battling an ongoing data scandal. Photo / AP

Playboy is leaving Facebook, for good, it says, with the social giant's latest user-privacy scandal the straw that broke the camel's back for the media company.

Playboy Enterprises said it will deactivate its accounts on Facebook, which cumulatively have more than 25 million followers.

"The recent news about Facebook's alleged mismanagement of users' data has solidified our decision to suspend our activity on the platform at this time," Playboy Enterprises said.

In a tweet yesterday, Playboy chief creative officer Cooper Hefner — son of the late Hugh Hefner, the mag's famed founder — said, "We are stepping away from Facebook."

"Facebook's content guidelines and corporate policies continue contradicting our values," the exec wrote.

"We've tried to craft our voice for the platform, which in our opinion continues to be sexually repressive."

Hefner added, "Learning of the recent meddling in a free US election further demonstrates another concern we have of how they handle users' data."

Worth noting: Playboy is maintaining its presence on Facebook-owned Instagram (where Hefner's statement also was posted).

For Facebook, Playboy's move is part of a backlash against the company, exemplified by the DeleteFacebook hashtag, that has grown in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica revelations.

The UK-based political consulting firm obtained info on 50 million users, without Facebook's knowledge and without the consent of the users themselves.

About 8 per cent of Facebook users said they plan to stop using the service because of data-privacy concerns raised by the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

'PRIVACY IS A HUMAN RIGHT'

Apple CEO Tim Cook has also slammed Facebook at a town hall event hosted by MSNBC's Chris Hayes and Recode's Kara Swisher.

Cook said Facebook's detailed personal information on its users should not exist in the first place.

"I think the best regulation is no regulation, is self-regulation," he said, according to NBC News. "However, I think we're beyond that here, and I do think that it's time for a set of people to think deeply about what can be done here."

Apple CEO Tim Cook explains his stance on data privacy, saying it is a civil liberty akin to the freedom of speech, during @MSNBC's and Recode's latest Revolution town hall.

Watch more: https://t.co/Ho7wv17AwP pic.twitter.com/7syeMy7Ptk

— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 29, 2018

Cook added: "Privacy to us is a human right. It's a civil liberty, and something that is unique to America. This is like freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Privacy is right up there with that for us."

Speaking about Apple's business practices, Cook said, "The truth is we could make a tonne of money if we monetised our customer, if our customer was our product. We've elected not to do that."

- Reuters, AAP