Apple CEO Tim Cook praises Parkland, ‘Me Too’ activists in commencement speech

Apple CEO Tim Cook got political during a commencement speech at his alma mater, Duke University, on Sunday, encouraging the graduates to be fearless like the Parkland, Fla., school shooting survivors and activists from the “Me Too” movement.

“Fearless like the students of Parkland, Fla., who refuse to be silent about the epidemic of gun violence and have rallied millions to their cause,” Cook said. 

“Fearless like the women who say ‘Me Too’ and ‘Time’s Up,’ ” Cook said. “Women who cast light into dark places and move us to a more just and equal future.”

{mosads} Cook said to be fearless like those who are advocating for the rights of immigrants.

“Be the last people to accept things as they are, and the first people to stand up and change them for the better,” Cook said.

It’s not the first time that the tech giant has praised the student activists.

In March, ahead of the “March for Our Lives” protest, he praised their passion for gun control following the shooting that killed 17 people at their high school on Feb. 14.

“We’ve always believed that people with passion can change the world, and that was on display this weekend in marches across Washington and across our nation,” Cook said at the time. “We are deeply inspired by the courage [of] these students who are using their voices to bring about change in America.”

Cook also appeared to go after Facebook in the commencement address following the controversy surrounding the improper use of user data collected by Cambridge Analytica, a data firm that was hired by President Trump’s 2016 campaign. 

“We reject the excuse that getting the most out of technology means trading away your right to privacy,” Cook said. “So we choose a different path, collecting as little of your data as possible, being thoughtful and respectful when it’s in our care because we know it belongs to you.”

Cook has previously called on the federal government to step in and regulate the social media site. 

“We care about the user experience. And we’re not going to traffic in your personal life. I think it’s an invasion of privacy. I think it’s — privacy to us is a human right. It’s a civil liberty,” he said in March.