It's no secret that two of the biggest tech conglomerates in the world, Apple and Facebook, have had a long-time feud brewing between them. Reportedly, the war of words has resurfaced and intensified between the CEO of the social media giant Mark Zuckerberg and the Apple chief Tim Cook.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported how it reached a critical point in 2018, when apparently Zuckerberg made some really angry comments against Apple.
As per the report, Tim Cook publicly blamed Facebook regarding the company's data collection practices in an interview on national television and also claimed that Apple would never have landed in such a soup.
Although, publicly Zuckerberg responded to Cook's statement by stating that the Apple boss was being "extremely glib;" people familiar with the incident said that the 36-year-old billionaire went far beyond in private and said to his team that 'we need to inflict pain,' for how Cook had treated Facebook, mentioned the report.
It All Started When...
The tension between the two tech giants started far before 2018. The feud became public in 2014 when Cook criticized the business model that Facebook follows. It just intensified with every passing year. More recently, Zuckerberg pointed fingers at Apple stating that the company is misleading its users, responding to which Cook didn't remain silent either.
As per a Business Insider report, Cook made his annoyance very much known regarding the business models that mainly care about engagement above all and also collect users' data in order to target them with advertising. Although the Apple chief did not name Facebook it was pretty clear that he was indeed talking about the social media network, said the report.
iOS Privacy Update Row
The recent debate between the two was fueled by an iOS privacy update, which once arrives into the Apple devices, will enable users to decline to have their data tracked for targeted advertisements more easily, reported DW.
While the feature is already available on the Apple devices, it actually takes time and it' only available when users search through their settings. As per the DW report, with the new privacy update each and every user will be able to decline such data tracking.
Facebook, on the other hand, is trying to prevent this move by Apple by asking individual users their permission to track their data. The option will arrive via a pop-up, which will let the users know that allowing the trackers would mean that they would "get ads that are more personalized" and "support business that rely on ads to reach customers."
'Apple is Self-Preferencing'
Facebook's stand on the matter is that "Apple is self-preferencing" and they have made such policies only to benefit from it, the report said. According to Facebook, "Apple's definition of "tracking" is that data has to pass through a third party to be considered tracking. It stated that by definition, that applies to every app and website and business - except Apple who owns the operating system," read the report.
While Apple didn't immediately come back with a response upon Insider's request, Facebook, in a statement to Insider, said: "This is not about two companies - this is about the future of the free internet. Apple is creating two sets of rules - one for themselves and one for small businesses, app developers, and consumers who lose out. Apple claims this is about privacy, but it's about profit, and we're joining others to point out their self-preferencing, anti-competitive behaviour."
