Apple’s public coups on Facebook destroyed CEO Mark Zuckerberg so much that he once said the social network needed to “cause pain” to the iPhone maker, according to a report.
The reported comment was the harbinger of a bitter dispute between the two tech titans that recently erupted in public view after being kept on fire during the scenes.
Zuckerberg expressed his desire for revenge after Apple chief Tim Cook analyzed Facebook’s data collection practices amid the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal, according to the Wall Street Journal (paid).
Asked how he would respond to the revelation that the political consultancy had misused the data of millions of Facebook users, Cook simply said he “would not be in this situation.”
In his public reply, Zuckerberg described Cook’s comment as “glib” and “not at all aligned with the truth.” But he later convened at a private meeting that Facebook needed to attack Apple for treating the social media giant so badly, the newspaper reported Saturday, citing people familiar with the exchange.
It is unclear when exactly this meeting took place and what its purpose was. But it was just one episode of a battle for privacy, commerce and corporate responsibility that warmed Apple’s efforts to prevent apps from secretly tracking people’s data.
Apple has said it will implement changes to its iOS 14 software this spring and will require app developers to explicitly ask users for permission to track their data. Facebook has aggressively fought the move with an advertising campaign arguing that the changes could hurt small businesses and kill the “free internet.”
Zuckerberg even criticized them on Facebook’s earnings call last month, saying they “follow up clearly [Apple’s] competitive interests “.
Facebook spokeswoman Dani Lever dismissed the idea that the tension was personal, saying it was in fact “the future of free internet.”
“Apple is creating two sets of rules: one for them and one for small businesses, app developers and losing consumers,” Lever said in a statement. “Apple claims it’s about privacy, but it’s about profit, and we’re joining others in pointing out their preferred anti-competitive behavior.”
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
With publishing cables