They hate each other. For several weeks, Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook have been exchanging names of birds and accusing each other of the worst crimes. The latest row between the two companies is over Apple’s desire to restrict access to personal data from third-party apps.
Available in the next update of iOS 14, this feature will require user consent, which puts Facebook’s business model at risk. The latter sells its data to small traders and private brokers who use it to create personalized advertisements.
Facebook offered full pages in the newspapers to “Take a stand against Apple in the defense of small businesses”. In a blog postDan Levy, vice president of advertising and business products at Facebook, says small merchants could lose up to 50% of their income.
He also explains that this update will push small firms to turn to a paid model, with subscriptions and in-app purchases, which will in fact benefit Apple, which takes a commission on it.
Tim Cook has also drawn the wrath of Mark Zuckerberg for having commented in an unimportant way on the events of the Capitol, condemning “Algorithm-fueled conspiracy theories”, implicitly referring to Facebook.
It is an understatement to say that the boss of the social network saw red. According to the Wall Street Journal, Mark Zuckerberg would have poured out in private by declaring to want “Inflict harm” to Apple for behaving badly with him.
For its part, Facebook openly supported Epic Games last December, then at war with the 30% commission levied by Apple.
The Cold War is heating up
Over the years, the visions of Facebook and Apple have increasingly diverged. Apple is positioned as the guarantor of privacy, while Facebook makes it the basis of its business.
Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg also have diametrically opposed personalities. The first, aged 60, is a logistics specialist and a skilled diplomat. At 36, the second is a former Harvard dropout who recently touted the end of private life as a new social norm.
Yet Mark Zuckerberg recently claimed that he sees the Apple firm as “One of its main competitors”. The two companies are fighting a messaging battle, for example, with Zuckerberg claiming that the WhatsApp app is “Clearly superior” to iMessage.
According to the site The Information, Facebook would also prepare a connected watch, enough to walk on the flower beds of the Apple Watch, which outrageously dominates the market. The two companies are also investing in new means of payment.
The time when Tim Cook called Facebook “partner” seems far away. And it is before the courts that the now public enmity between the two leaders is about to be resolved.
Always according to The Information, Facebook is reportedly studying the possibility of filing an antitrust complaint, accusing Apple of imposing rules on developers that its own services do not follow.
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