HONG KONG: Apple boss Tim Cook could turn out to be the yin to Yahoo’s Jerry Yang. The link between technological eras is the matter of data privacy in China.
A few weeks ago, Apple began storing Chinese iCloud accounts inside the People’s Republic. New rules meant it had to do so or stop providing the service. Cook reckoned his company could offer its customers better security than the alternatives.
The change also means, however, that local law dictates what information authorities can demand. Human rights activists are worried. Amnesty International started a social-media campaign against Apple on March 22.
Facebook’s latest data crisis is indicative of the risks. Mark Zuckerberg’s social network lost more than US$50bil (RM193.28bil) – or about a tenth – of its market value early last week after media investigations revealed that information from 50 million user profiles could have been misused by a political consultancy. Back when Yahoo was a web powerhouse, it suffered an even more relevant experience.
Emails the company handed over to the Chinese government in 2004 led to the imprisonment of journalist Shi Tao. Yahoo executives were hauled up to Capitol Hill in 2007 over the episode. With Shi’s mother sobbing behind them, Yang and his colleagues were berated by Representative Tom Lantos: “While technologically and financially you are giants, morally you are pygmies.”
Mere hours before their testimony, shares of Chinese e-commerce outfit Alibaba.com, in which Yahoo had bought a 40% stake to further its PRC ambitions, had tripled in their Hong Kong debut.
Yang defended himself at the time by saying that to do business in China meant “we have to comply with local law.” At a conference in Guangzhou last December, Cook struck a similar note: “When you go into a country and participate in the market, you are subject to the laws and regulation of that country.” Apple is by no means alone. Amazon, Microsoft and others are playing by Beijing'€™s rules, too.
Nevertheless, Cook oversees the US$854bil (RM3.30tril) gorilla of tech. He also rejected FBI demands to unlock an alleged killer’s iPhone, establishing himself as a defender of privacy even if the nuances of the case were complicated. That makes him a bigger and easier target. Apple and its investors should brace for the blowback. — Reuters
Already a subscriber? Log in
Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access
Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Unlimited access with perks.
