Huge business competitors Pepsi and Coca-Cola, Airbus and Boeing, Burger King and McDonald’s are similar in one way: they compete for a similar business.
It is what makes the fight between Facebook and Apple so interesting. Each of them is a major technology firm, but that’s the only thing they have in common.
Facebook generates almost all of its profits from advertising, but for Apple, it only contributes a small percentage; its income mainly comes from its App Store and devices.
The two firms are not competing with one another, they simply dislike each other!
For many years, Tim Cook from Apple has stated that Facebook handles its users as a commodity to generate income from advertising and does not take their privacy seriously.
In the meantime, according to Mark Zuckerberg, Apple’s products are costly, and they have a hidden agenda for condemning Facebook. The New York Times says that last year, Apple even suspended Facebook’s developer tools. The newest development in the fight last week has made the relationship worse.
A bad situation becomes worse.
At the beginning of this year, Apple said that it would launch a feature called App Tracking Transparency that would enable people to manage their information better. More importantly, consumers would have to sign in for their information while before, they accessed it by default. Apps such as for Facebook will use it.
For Facebook, it presents a significant challenge since it sells specific adverts to generate fantastic profits. It openly admits that this will lead to a decline in its business. Apple has shelved the suggested changes until the coming year to accord developers time to get ready.
Apple’s Jane Hovarth explained in a letter last week the reason for the postponement and gave in to the urge to criticize Zuckerberg. ‘The executives at Facebook have clearly stated that they aim to compile massive information. They continue to ignore the need for user privacy.’
Facebook retaliates by remarking, ‘They are taking advantage of their control and position in the market to self-preference their information collection and make it almost impossible for their rivals to use similar information.
‘Even though they say it’s about privacy it’s all about profit.’
For Apple, it is similar to being kicked where it hurts most because it is confident that compared to Facebook, its business model is more significant.
As early as 2010, Steve Jobs, Apple’s Co-founder is said to have told Facebook to be cautious about privacy. In 2018, Apple’s present boss, Mr. Cook, stated that he could have taken similar action as Facebook and used the information to sell ads. However, ‘we chose to avoid this.’
Roger McNamee, a Silicon Valley investor and writer of ‘Zucked,’ a book criticizing Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg, its founder, does not like Facebook either.
‘Apple’s method aims at benefiting its consumers,’ he remarks. ‘Facebook’s techniques entails taking advantage of its users.’
‘In the past, Apple has had sufficient cause to castigate other individuals but has opted to avoid this.’
‘I believe it shows how insulting they deem Facebook’s conduct.’
Is what Facebook is saying true? Is Apple attempting to use its dominance in the market to edge out rivals?
Even though in comparison, Apple’s advertising is small, Morgan Stanley predicts that its advertising income will increase significantly in the coming few years.
Therefore, does it aim to stop Facebook from gathering user information to make money? Doing this would be intellectually weird.
Revealing personal information
This autumn, a US TV ad that has been trending the most is an Apple privacy campaign. Many people reveal personal information by mistake about things they have found on the Internet to unfamiliar strangers.
The bottom line is, ‘Keep some things private; with iPhone, you can do this.’
It is an obvious indication that Apple values privacy; ignoring this is not practical.
Not fair to developers
But, all sectors of the political arena have described Apple as monopolistic. Presently, it is engaged in several legal suits after an allegation was made, that it misuses its controlling App Store to implement unjust requirements on developers.
The firm was also accused of not paying taxes proper taxes; the firm refutes this.
The privacy-vs-purity dispute truly disturbs Mr. Zuckerberg. When Mr. Cook first went public in 2014 to accuse Facebook of treating its consumers as a commodity, the Facebook chief executive responded, and said to Time Magazine, ‘I am frustrated that an increasing number of people appear to think that an advertising business model is somehow equal to not being at par with your clients.’
‘Do you believe that since you are paying Apple, you are in a way at par with them?’
‘If it was the case, their products would be much more affordable.’
Maybe what he says is true; Apple is one of the world’s wealthiest firms.
Fake war
This two-way dislike seems even weirder because the two firms depend on each other. The iPhone would not be as attractive to a lot of consumers if Facebook, (featuring Instagram and Whassup) was not accessible.
On the other hand, would people source for other media platforms if they were unable to access Facebook on an iPhone?
It would be practical for the two firms to forge a strong, healthy, working interaction. But still, they do not do it.
Carolina Milanesi, an Apple Expert is among the majority who think that the two firms have a different view of life and the friction between them is personal and cultural.
She states, ‘Their principles vary a lot.’
‘Apple has strong reservations about Facebook’s treatment of its consumers; then how come all Apple devices have Facebook as an app?’
It is the main problem.
Up to now, these two companies have not seen eye to eye. However, this war is fake; their relationship has actually been interdependent. But, Apple’s suggestion is not fake. Do not be confused; its fanaticism about privacy is harmful to Facebook.
Its latest regulations will damage the social network.
Out of all the possible competitions in big tech, the least likely appears to be Facebook v Apple.
Google is an obvious rival of Facebook, while Google and Microsoft are Apple’s.
However, the privacy issue has triggered a conflict between Apple and Facebook, which is here to stay.
The competition fury may escalate in 2021.
image K / Shutterstock.com
