Executive realness

Tim Cook casts corner-office shade on Mark Zuckerberg

Out Apple CEO Tim Cook had a bit of a Mariah moment when asked about the hot water Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg find themselves in these days over privacy concerns and a scandal that just won’t quit.

Speaking to Kara Swisher of Recode on Wednesday, Cook was asked what he would do if he were the Zucks.

Here’s how he responded:

OK, not quite.

But it also wasn’t that far off.

“What would I do?” replied Cook. “I wouldn’t be in the situation.”

As in, the premise of the question is incomprehensible because I’d never be dumb enough to even come close.

That’s some C-E-Oh-yes-he-did realness.

Cook elaborated on why Apple will never be in this particular hot seat while he’s at the helm:

“We could make a ton of money if we monetized our customers, if our customers were our product. We’ve elected not to do that. Privacy to us is a human right. It’s a civil liberty, and in something that is unique to America, this is like freedom of speech and freedom of the press and privacy is right up there for us. And so, we’ve always done this.”

They also discussed watching adult content on iPhones, something Cooks predecessor, Steve Jobs, was staunchly opposed to.

“We’re like the guy in the corner store. What you sell in that store says something about you and if you don’t want to sell that other thing you don’t sell it. It doesn’t mean that you can’t use an iPhone to go to your browser and go to some porno site if you want to do that…”

“Nobody does that,” joked Swisher, to which Cook responded: “I’m not making fun of it!”

Watch the full interview below:

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