Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook took to the virtual stage of the Computers, Privacy, and Data Protection (CPDP) conference on Thursday, attacking social media sites for allowing the spread of misinformation — an apparent barb aimed at Facebook (FB), though he didn’t mention its name.
In his speech, Cook laid into algorithm-driven social media platforms, painting them as, “An interconnected ecosystem of companies and data brokers, of purveyors of fake news and peddlers of division, of trackers and hucksters just looking to make a quick buck.”
Cook’s appearance followed Apple’s announcement that it will soon launch a controversial privacy feature that gives users the ability to stop apps from tracking their activity to collect information for advertisers. The feature could hurt Facebook and other apps that benefit from targeted advertising dollars.
The feature, called App Tracking Transparency and coming to Apple devices in the next update for iOS 14, has faced heavy criticism from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who claims Apple is only making the privacy change to benefit its own bottom line.
Apple and Facebook’s relationship has never been worse. They have sparred over privacy and data security for years, but iApple’s announcement at its WWDC 2020 conference that it was going to introduce App Tracking Transparency set the two tech titans on a collision course.
App Tracking Transparency is a new pop-up that users will see when they download apps from the App Store that track their online activities to provide information to advertisers to better target their campaigns.
Facebook, however, claims the feature will decimate small businesses that rely on its ability to effectively target ads. According to the social media company, those businesses could see a 50% reduction in revenue as a result of Apple’s changes.
Facebook even went as far as to take out full-page ads in The New York Times and Wall Street Journal saying that it was fighting to save small businesses from Apple. The irony in Facebook using media outlets, which have been crushed by it and Google’s dominance of the online advertising industry, was particularly rich.
During his speech Cook lambasted social platforms that operate using algorithms, which include Facebook and Twitter, for allowing everything from conspiracy theories to violent militias to propagate across their services.
“What are the consequences of prioritizing conspiracy theories and violent incitement, simply because of the high rates of engagement?” Cook said.
“What are the consequences of not just tolerating but rewarding content that undermines public trust in life-saving vaccinations? What are the consequences of seeing thousands of users joining extremist groups, and then perpetuating an algorithm that recommends even more?”
Prior to his speech, Cook tweeted that the industry needs transparency and reform.
Facebook isn’t taking Apple’s moves lying down, though. During the company’s earnings call on Wednesday, Zuckerberg called out Apple as one of its biggest competitors. He added, “Apple has every incentive to use its dominant platform position to interfere with how our apps work to favor their own, which they regularly do.”
Facebook is now, according to a report by The Information, considering filing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple in an effort to push back against App Tracking Transparency. That’s in addition to Facebook’s announcement in December that it was assisting Epic Games in its antitrust suit against Apple.
That suit revolves around Apple’s App Store practices and pricing structure. The company currently charges a 30% commission on apps and in-app purchases made through the App Store, something Epic Games objects to, as it says the commission forces it to charge more for its apps. Apple, meanwhile, doesn’t pay any commissions.
In joining Epic’s suit against Apple, Facebook claimed that Apple was only using the App Tracking Transparency feature to force app developers to stop offering free, ad-supported apps. By making ads less efficient for advertisers, the thinking goes, developers would instead have to charge for their apps and in-app offerings. That, in turn, would boost Apple’s revenue thanks to the 30% App Store fee.
The ultimate outcome of this battle is still far from decided, but this certainly isn’t going to be the last we hear from either company on the topic.
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