Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during the 2018 Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) at the San Jose Convention Center on June 4, 2018 in San Jose, California. Getty Images

Apple CEO Tim Cook hit out at tech companies that claim more customer data leads to superior products, saying that's a "bunch of bunk." In an exclusive interview with Vice News Tonight that aired Tuesday, Cook did not name any names but appeared to admonish the likes of advertising giants Facebook and Google, which rely on data sharing with third parties.

Some argue that Apple's more conservative approach is damaging to the development of core products like Siri, especially in the face of fierce competition from Amazon's Alexa. But Cook reiterated to Vice the company's "collect as little data as possible" stance, saying he considers privacy "one of the most important issues of the 21st century." The tech CEO added that he is not typically a "pro-regulation kind of person," but he would be willing to work with lawmakers to educate them and ensure that tech companies create products that are "great for society." "I think some level of government regulation is important to come out on that," Cook told Vice.

No privacy infringement in China

Apple itself came under fire earlier this year about its commitment to user privacy following its decision to begin hosting Chinese users' iCloud accounts in a new data center within China's borders. Critics argued that the move would give Chinese authorities easier access to text messages, email and other data stored in the cloud, thereby potentially quashing users' freedom of speech. Cook insisted to Vice, however, that Apple's encryption policies are "the same in every country" and that the company continues to have ultimate control. "I wouldn't get caught up in where's the location of it," Cook told the news organization. "We have servers located in many different countries in the world. They're not easier to get data from being in one country versus the next."

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