Apple vs. Facebook is heating up, and we may not like who wins
Well that escalated quickly.
At about 11:55 a.m. Pacific Time on Monday, Apple Senior Vice President Craig Federighi took the ongoing war of words between his company and Facebook to a new level.
Federighi declared that, in the upcoming version of mac OS, Apple would shut down the practice of ad networks tracking users via Like buttons and comment fields.
SEE ALSO:Everything you need to know about Apple's iOS 12Facebook is probably not quivering in its boots. These protections, called Intelligent Tracking Prevention, only exist in Safari, Apple’s homegrown browser -- which has only a 13.8% market share on desktop computers worldwide. Google Chrome is the leader in this space, installed on 58.1% of desktops.
It seems unlikely that Google, which makes 86% of its revenue from advertising, would implement a change so openly hostile to its business model.
Yes, Safari is the biggest fish in mobile browsing (with 51.7% of the market) -- and Apple clarified to Mashable that Intelligent Tracking Prevention extends to mobile -- but it's also where users tend to interact with Facebook and its many partners via apps.
But the night is young. There is growing concern among consumers about their data, and fears of tech companies being careless with it. And Facebook is ground zero for these concerns.
For many users, the default position now is to assume tech companies can’t be trusted with the data they harvest -- and so the less you share, the better.
This mindset was on full display in Sunday’s New York Timesreport about how Facebook gave device manufacturers access to a large amount of personal data so they could recreate “Facebook-like” experiences.
So far, there's no evidence those manufacturers harvested or misused that data for their own purposes, as was the case with the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Still, there’s no question Apple is riding the privacy wave as hard as it can.
Before this week, you could have chalked up the ongoing war of words between Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg as a game of defense. One player would only needle the other when pressed to do so by the media (MSNBC for Cook, the Ezra Klein podcast for Zuckerberg).
With the changes in Safari, however, Apple has switched to playing offense. The news wasn’t well-received in Menlo Park. Facebook Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos hit back on Twitter, dismissing Apple’s move as "virtue signaling." (Things got even weirder after that.)
Tweet may have been deleted
You can argue about how effective these precise changes will be. But it’s clear Apple is willing to put its money where its mouth is when Cook says (and has said repeatedly), “Privacy is a fundamental human right.” A cynical person might hear “Privacy is a very hot topic right now and we see it as something to lean into to market our products better.”
Still, Apple has been beating this drum for a while. When it unveiled Apple Pay in 2014, the company made sure to emphasize it didn’t want to know anything about what you bought, and went out of its way to develop its AI tech in a manner where individual users weren’t “profiled.”
So it’s a little confusing that Apple is reported to be in talks to create its own ad business that could enable it to sell advertising across its ecosystem of devices. That is just a rumor at this point. But depending on how it uses tracking technology, Apple getting into the ad-tech business could easily undermine the privacy-centric image it’s cultivated over the past several years.
The move does make sense in another context, though. Apple sees a huge market that’s enabled by its devices (88 percent of Facebook’s revenue is from mobile) and it wants a piece of that action. Tim Cook may feel he can do a better job than the current players. Undermining Facebook is a bonus.
Ultimately, that's why Zuckerberg has reason to worry: Facebook needs Apple far more than Apple needs Facebook. Without hardware, Facebook doesn’t exist -- but to Apple, Facebook’s just another app. There are plenty of others eager to eat up more iPhone users’ time.
In some circles it has become de rigueurto get rid of the Facebook app, or at least use it less. Oh, and Apple’s making that easier, too.
In any case, the Cold War between Apple and Facebook is heating up. It's a proxy battle in our broader struggle to balance privacy with ever-more-helpful technology.
Apple has the upper hand for now -- but it’s also expanding its news apps, getting deeper into original content, and then there’s that rumored ad network in the works.
If it’s not careful, Apple might become the very thing it’s trying to fight.
Featured Video For You
Huawei's MateBook X Pro is a MacBook Pro killer
-
“新丰味”喜获中国首届县域品牌擂台赛十大营销创新品牌Sportsmen who went to warHTC Vive's Deluxe Audio Strap finally completes the high怎么挑选好吃的香蕉?Essential Apps to Install on your Windows PC or MacActivists charged with espionage allegedly used local newspaper for N. Korean propaganda[Newsmaker] Police summon KWhose foreign policy is scarier, Ted Cruz’s or Donald Trump’s?U.S. Senators call on FTC to investigate the security of drivers' dataUN panel allows Germany to send COVID
- ·Nvidia GeForce Now Ultimate vs. New Graphics Card
- ·Ted Cruz and John Kasich are attacking each other instead of hitting Trump with all they got.
- ·宝兴县检察院推进司法行为专项整治
- ·North Korea's paper urges military's absolute obedience to ruling party on Army
- ·9 Planetariums to Get Lost in the Cosmos
- ·North Korea unresponsive to South Korea's hotline calls for 3rd day
- ·1Password has a new tool for keeping your data safe at the border
- ·S. Korea still on high alert over additional African swine fever outbreak
- ·The Composer Has No Clothes
- ·统筹规划齐推进 形象水平共提升
- ·Facebook birthday fundraisers rake in $300 million in first year
- ·UN panel allows Germany to send COVID
- ·Google Search tries new tactics for limiting explicit deepfakes
- ·MTV looks to Snapchat to reach the cool teens
- ·Cards Against Humanity has one specific requirement for their new CEO: Be Barack Obama
- ·Top diplomats of S. Korea, Japan to hold talks in New York this week
- ·24 of the Oldest Trees in the World
- ·Unification minister promises support for humanitarian aid to North Korea despite missile launches
- ·Tesla leak reveals just how quickly the Model 3 can hit 60 mph
- ·Typhoon Tapah approaching S. Korea with strong winds, heavy rains
- ·'Hyundai Way': Auto giant's W121tr plan aims to seize mobility market lead
- ·Donald Trump gives free golf rounds, not cash, to charity.
- ·《雨城方言》 传承乡音
- ·North Korean paper calls for Japan to make reparations for colonial
- ·US to oppose North Korean worker dispatch to occupied Ukrainian territory: State Dept.
- ·IAEA report puts pressure on Seoul's bid to restart peace initiative
- ·'Please find her': Man dies amid 25
- ·Ted Cruz doesn’t need any endorsements.
- ·恩奋进凝聚职工力量 献计出力服务中心工作
- ·Top diplomats of S. Korea, Japan to hold talks in New York this week
- ·Discover Secret Swimming Holes and Hidden History in Crystal River, Florida
- ·Samsung shows off stretchable screen, and it's both awesome and weird
- ·关注!现代化海洋牧场养殖品种“上新”!
- ·S. Korea still on high alert over additional African swine fever outbreak
- ·What Ever Happened to Flickr?
- ·Stellar pregnancy announcement features a dog wearing glasses