Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees close to him, “we need to inflict pain” on Apple for comments by Apple CEO Tim Cook that Zuckerberg described as “extremely glib.”
This and other insights into an ongoing rift between the two companies appeared in a report in The Wall Street Journal this past weekend. The article indicated that, based on first-hand reports, Zuckerberg has taken Cook and Apple’s public criticisms of Facebook’s privacy policies, whether direct or indirect, as personal affronts.
For example, Cook publicly responded to Facebook’s 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal by saying such a scandal would never happen to Apple because Apple does not treat its customers like products. When asked what he would do in Zuckerberg’s position, he said, “I wouldn’t be in this situation,” calling Facebook’s approach “an invasion of privacy.” This was one of the comments that has led Zuckerberg to see Apple as an opponent.
Before that, in 2017, Zuckerberg and Cook met to attempt to smooth an already souring relationship, the article stated, but the meeting “resulted in a tense standoff.” Since then, the relationship has continued to sour.
The disputes reached new prominence last year, when Apple announced plans to require that iOS apps ask users for permission to track them with IDFA (ID For Advertisers) tags across apps and websites. The change in policy is already reflected in Apple’s terms of service for app developers, but will not be enforced until early spring, after the release of iOS 14.5.
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