Mark Zuckerberg Bashes Tim Cook’s ‘Extremely Glib’ Comments On Facebook Privacy

Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has offered up some choice words of his own after Apple boss Tim Cook sharply criticized the social networking site over its recent privacy flub involving Cambridge Analytica, a political data firm that is reported to have shared information about more than 50 million Facebook users with Donald Trump's presidential campaign in 2016.

Cook last week said Apple considers privacy "a human right, a civil liberty," and suggested that Facebook's fumbling of so much user data constitutes a need to issue some "well-crafted regulation." His comments added to a growing chorus of criticism against Facebook in the wake of the privacy scandal, including several high profile figures such as Tesla founder Elon Musk, along with a #DeleteFacebook campaign that is trending on Twitter.

As far as Zuckerberg is concerned, however, Cook's comments were "extremely glib," especially as they pertained to how privacy factors into the mindsets of individuals running a free service.

"You know, I find that argument, that if you're not paying that somehow we can't care about you, to be extremely glib," Zuckerberg said. "And not at all aligned with the truth."

Zuckerberg further stated that Facebook is on a mission to connect the world, which entails providing a service to those who cannot afford to pay. As such, advertising comes into play as part of the business model. However, Zuckerberg insisted that Facebook as a company still cares about people's rights. He also called into question how sincere Apple really is when it comes to caring about customers, at least in relation to Facebook.

"I think it's important that we don't all get Stockholm syndrome, and let the companies that work hard to charge you more, convince you that they actually care more about you," Zuckerberg added. "Because that sounds ridiculous to me."

Apple has had its own privacy screw ups, such as when Apple's iCloud service was hacked two years ago, potentially compromising 40 million iCloud accounts. Zuckerberg didn't get into that, though if he and Cook want to sling mud at each other, both will find plenty of dirt.

Top/Thumbnail Image Source: Flickr via Brian Solis (www.briansolis.com)