Apple CEO Meets India PM Modi, Commits to Growth and Investment

Apple CEO Tim Cook gestures during the inauguration of India's first Apple retail store in Mumbai, India, April 18, 2023. (Reuters)
Apple CEO Tim Cook gestures during the inauguration of India's first Apple retail store in Mumbai, India, April 18, 2023. (Reuters)
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Apple CEO Meets India PM Modi, Commits to Growth and Investment

Apple CEO Tim Cook gestures during the inauguration of India's first Apple retail store in Mumbai, India, April 18, 2023. (Reuters)
Apple CEO Tim Cook gestures during the inauguration of India's first Apple retail store in Mumbai, India, April 18, 2023. (Reuters)

Apple Inc Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook on Wednesday committed to growth and investment across India in meeting with the country's prime minister, Narendra Modi, in New Delhi.

Cook is on a visit to India this week and inaugurated the iPhone maker's first retail store in the country on Tuesday in Mumbai. Apple will also open a retail store in New Delhi on Thursday.

"We share your vision of the positive impact technology can make on India's future — from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment, we're committed to growing and investing across the country," Cook wrote on Twitter and shared a picture of him shaking hands with Modi.

In response, the Indian PM tweeted that it was an "absolute delight" to meet Cook.

"Glad to exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the tech-powered transformations taking place in India," Modi said.

Cook's visit to India underscores Apple's growing ambitions for the country, where despite having just a 3% market share the company has been expanding iPhone assembly via contract manufacturers, and also boosting its exports.



South Korea Fines Meta about $15 Mln over Collection of User Data

A 3D printed Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is placed on laptop keyboard in this illustration taken on November 2, 2021. (Reuters)
A 3D printed Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is placed on laptop keyboard in this illustration taken on November 2, 2021. (Reuters)
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South Korea Fines Meta about $15 Mln over Collection of User Data

A 3D printed Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is placed on laptop keyboard in this illustration taken on November 2, 2021. (Reuters)
A 3D printed Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is placed on laptop keyboard in this illustration taken on November 2, 2021. (Reuters)

South Korea has ordered Facebook owner Meta Platforms to pay 21.62 billion won ($15.67 million) in fines after finding it had collected sensitive user data and given it to advertisers without a legal basis, Seoul's data protection agency said.

The US tech giant obtained information from about 980,000 South Korean Facebook users on issues such as their religion, political views and sexuality while failing to seek agreement from users, the Personal Information Protection Commission said in a statement on Tuesday.

The information was then used by some 4,000 advertisers, the agency said.

A Meta Korea official declined to comment.

"Specifically, it has been found that (Meta) analyzed user behavior data such as pages they liked and advertisements they clicked on Facebook and created and managed advertising themes related to sensitive information," the commission said.

This included users being categorized for example as being North Korean defectors or following a certain religion, the agency said.

Meta had also unfairly declined a request by users to access personal information and failed to prevent data on about 10 South Koreans from being leaked by hackers, the agency said.