Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has told people around him that he thinks Facebook needs to inflict pain on Apple. The two companies are embroiled in a battle over new privacy measures in the App Store.
The quote comes from The Wall Street Journal, which quotes sources inside Facebook. Zuckerberg is said to have complained that Apple is treating the company poorly. The comment follows the App Store’s new policy that actively requires users to consent to be tracked for advertising purposes.
Apple and Facebook have long been at loggerheads over privacy issues. Apple likes to see itself as a fighter for privacy and has repeatedly lashed out at Facebook’s privacy policy. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, once said that Apple would never end up in a situation like Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal.
New App Store rules
To better protect its users’ privacy, Apple recently made some changes to the requirements of apps offered in the App Store. Since December, developers must indicate in the description in the App Store to what extent their app infringes on the privacy of users.
Starting this spring, Apple will also require apps to show a pop-up asking a user’s permission to track them for advertising purposes. This pop-up will be similar to, for example, the request to use the camera. Facebook has already promised to introduce such a notification, but also to supplement it with an explanation of why giving this permission is important.
Google also dissatisfied
Google has also opposed Apple’s new policy. The company claims that such measures mainly affect small companies, for whom it becomes more difficult to reach their target groups. Since developers have to be clearer about the privacy policy of their apps, Google seems to have stopped the development of almost all its iOS apps. Apps such as Gmail, Google Maps and Google Search have not been updated since 8 December.
15 hours ago
