According to Apple’s public outcry on Facebook, he told CEO Mark Zuckerberg so much that he once said the social network ‘should’ hurt ‘the iPhone maker, according to a report.
The report is a harbinger of a bitter feud between the two tech titans that recently erupted in public opinion after years of tapping behind the scenes.
Zuckerberg has expressed his desire for revenge after Apple CEO Tim Cook gathered the practice of Facebook amid the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal, according to the Wall Street Journal (paywall).
Asked how he would react to the revelation that the political advisory firm had misused data from millions of Facebook users, Cook simply said he “would not be in this situation.”
In his public version, Zuckerberg calls Cook’s remark “slippery” and “not at all in line with the truth.” But he later said in a private meeting that Facebook had to strike at Apple because he treated the social media giant so badly, the Journal reported Saturday, citing people familiar with the exchange.
It is unclear when exactly the meeting took place and what its purpose was. But it was just one episode in a battle over privacy, commerce and corporate responsibility that was heated over Apple’s efforts to stop apps from secretly locating people’s data.
Apple has said it will implement spring changes to its iOS 14 software in which app developers will have 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 harm small businesses and kill the ‘free internet’.
Zuckerberg even criticized them on Facebook’s earnings call last month, saying they ‘clearly follow [Apple’s] competing interests. ”
Dani Lever, spokesperson for Facebook, rejected the idea that the spit was personal, saying that it was in fact about ‘the future of the free internet’.
“Apple is creating two sets of rules – one for themselves 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 join others in showing off their self-righteous, competitive behavior.”
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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