{"id":145559,"date":"2021-02-18T13:00:21","date_gmt":"2021-02-18T18:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=145559"},"modified":"2021-02-18T13:13:23","modified_gmt":"2021-02-18T18:13:23","slug":"inside-the-privacy-battle-raging-between-apple-and-facebook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/inside-the-privacy-battle-raging-between-apple-and-facebook\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside The Privacy Battle Raging Between Apple And Facebook"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Finside-the-privacy-battle-raging-between-apple-and-facebook%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=145559&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-1090897606-1200x800-1.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\">For years, Apple and Facebook have clashed over both privacy and consumer rights. But tensions between these tech titans have now reached a climax as Apple\u2019s incoming privacy policy change will irrevocably dent Facebook\u2019s revenue. Earlier this year, speaking at the EU data protection conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook reprimanded Facebook\u2019s entire business model, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestar.com\/business\/2021\/02\/04\/in-an-era-of-rampant-disinformation-and-conspiracy-theories-apple-ceo-tim-cook-calls-for-stricter-privacy-regulations.html\"><span class=\"s2\">stating<\/span><\/a>, \u201cif we accept as normal and unavoidable that everything in our lives can be aggregated and sold, we lose so much more than data, we lose the freedom to be human.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Shaping both cultural and technological trends, Apple has always been ahead of the curve. In the early 2000s, the company had the foresight to take over the portable music industry, shaping an entire generation\u2019s consumption of music with the iPod. A decade later, Apple was first to mass market the now-ubiquitous smartphone. In today\u2019s era, Apple is again correctly identifying the \u201cnext big thing.\u201d Like a deft chess player, Apple has been strategically positioning themselves as a bulwark against big-tech intrusion into our personal lives, in the growing global trend of concern and consciences about privacy on the web.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Over the last several iOS updates, Apple has been bringing privacy closer to the forefront. Apple\u2019s internet browser, Safari, blocks trackers when you browse the web. Apple\u2019s voice assistant, Siri, largely exists and operates on the device itself, not sending data to and from any external services. When using Apple\u2019s native Maps application, your routes and destinations are anonymized. Apple Pay, in contrast to Google\u2019s Wallet, not only ensures security, but also explicitly states that it will never track your transactions. iOS 14, Apple\u2019s latest iteration of their mobile operating system, goes even further in bolstering security. Users can now toggle an app\u2019s permission to either track location at all times, or only while using the app. Moreover, users can choose to give an app permission to access only a subset of their photos, or all of their photos. On newer iPhone models, you have an indicator on the top of the device that shows when the microphone and camera are active, even if the camera app isn\u2019t being used.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Now, Apple is looking to take this even further and tackle tracking that occurs from app to app. With the introduction of iOS 14 at Apple\u2019s World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2020, Apple introduced the <a href=\"https:\/\/developer.apple.com\/documentation\/apptrackingtransparency\"><span class=\"s2\">App Tracking Transparency Framework<\/span><\/a>. From a user\u2019s perspective, this is simply a new popup that asks, \u201c<span class=\"s1\">would you like to allow the app to track you within the app and between apps and on the web, or would you like to ask the app to not track you<\/span>\u201d \u2014 the latter option effectively kills the tracking abilities of the app. In short, Apple will now force app developers to ask users for their explicit permission to track them.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Apple CEO Tim Cook himself shared a screenshot of the upcoming popup on Twitter.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We believe users should have the choice over the data that is being collected about them and how it\u2019s used. Facebook can continue to track users across apps and websites as before, App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14 will just require that they ask for your permission first. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UnnAONZ61I\">pic.twitter.com\/UnnAONZ61I<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Tim Cook (@tim_cook) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tim_cook\/status\/1339720611313065984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 17, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\">Though such an inquiry to users appears both trivial and innocuous, it comes with spates of implications for such social media giants as Facebook and Google. Firms whose business models are entirely based on offering ostensibly \u201cfree\u201d services to users in exchange for slyly siphoning their data now stand to lose billions in revenue as Apple aims to bring transparency to social media on their devices. Presumably, many users, when explicitly asked if they want their location and other metadata harvested and fed to advertisers, will resolutely renege.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Facebook demands no monthly subscription and offers no in-app purchases from its nearly 3-billion users. Scrolling, posting, commenting, reacting is all seemingly done for free. One might ask, <em>how does Facebook make money, let alone amass a valuation of $780 billion?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Imagine you\u2019re a florist looking to expand your customer base. A primitive, pre-data-mining era solution would be to take out an ad in the yellow pages or the local paper and hope enough people interested in flowers see your ad. But this is both costly and random, rendering it ineffective. There is no way to weed out people who wouldn\u2019t be interested in your business, requiring you to instead target <em>everyone.<\/em> A more modern solution would be to turn to Facebook. Presiding under the assumption that nearly everyone in your town is already on the social media giant, it\u2019s safe to assume that Facebook\u2019s vast data servers know more about your town\u2019s denizens\u2019 shopping habits than you do. A simple online Facebook ad could cut through the uncertainty, and directly target people who would potentially be interested in your product or service. Facebook knows who\u2019s getting married, Facebook knows who has upcoming anniversaries or birthdays, Facebook even knows who has recently been shopping for flowers online. It knows exactly who might be interested in your business. The more that Facebook can learn about you, the more metadata they can collect, the more lucrative you become to them as a pawn for the whims of advertising firms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Apple\u2019s upcoming software update jeopardizes <em>all of this<\/em> for Facebook. While a boon for safety-conscience consumers, this privacy-first attitude from Apple poses bleak financial implications for social media firms and major advertisers who rely on exploiting people\u2019s data for personal, targeted ads.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">If Facebook wants to keep its app on the Apple App Store (which they obviously do) they will be required to ask users to knowingly and voluntarily opt in to having their metadata \u2013 this includes their location, the date and time specific actions are performed, the specific iPhone model they are using, etc. \u2014 collected by Facebook, while using their app. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">A Forbes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/johnkoetsier\/2020\/07\/21\/how-apples-privacy-decision-threatens-billions-in-facebook-revenue-as-of-september-2020\/?sh=64d0c0926fdb\"><span class=\"s2\">article<\/span><\/a> pointed out that as a result of this change, Facebook could lose as much as ten billion dollars. \u201cAbout $10 billion in Facebook revenue might be at risk in the short term. If its ads lose relevance and therefore return poorly on advertiser\u2019s investments, that $10 billion could turn into $5 billion pretty quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Moreover, rumors suggest that Apple is looking to eventually replace Google as the default search engine, in a future iOS release, with a safer and more privacy-centric option. While there are no official reports of this, Apple\u2019s past behavior of acquiring third-party firms focused on a particular niche (for example, their acquisition of Beats By Dre in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.apple.com\/ca\/newsroom\/2014\/05\/28Apple-to-Acquire-Beats-Music-Beats-Electronics\/\"><span class=\"s2\">2014<\/span><\/a>) could point to a future deal whereby Apple purchases the privacy boasting search engine, DuckDuckGo, and rebranding as a \u201cSiri-dot-com\u201d service of their own.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">This wouldn\u2019t be an unprecedented move for the company best known for its hardware products. Though few people remember it today, nearly a decade ago, in 2012, Apple made a short-lived <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2012\/10\/1\/3439168\/ping-apple-music-social-network-closed\"><span class=\"s2\">foray into social media<\/span><\/a> with an attempt called \u201cPing\u201d \u2014 a music-centric social media network; one of Apple\u2019s few failures that was shortly discontinued. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Consequently, Facebook\u2019s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has gone to war against Apple. Even forming a major antitrust lawsuit against Apple over their gall to prompt their users when they are being tracked. Facebook\u2019s fundamental argument is along the lines of, Apple users <em>should not<\/em> be asked about their privacy. Ironically, Facebook itself is currently facing two separate antitrust lawsuits from the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and state authorities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Further retaliating against Apple, Facebook took up real estate <a href=\"https:\/\/ca.sports.yahoo.com\/news\/facebook-criticizes-apple-privacy-policy-164903318.html\"><span class=\"s2\">in the pages of major newspapers<\/span><\/a> such as the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. In efforts to spin the narrative, Facebook\u2019s ads purported that Apple\u2019s move towards greater privacy would, \u201climit businesses\u2019 ability to run personalized ads and reach their customers effectively.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/business\/news\/ios-14-apple-privacy-update-impacts-small-business-ads\">According to Facebook<\/a><\/span>, over 44% of small and medium sized business increased their spending on social media in FY2020. Feigning concern for small businesses, Facebook added that Apple\u2019s temerity to ask users to willingly consent to having their data collected would cause, \u201cthe average small business advertiser\u2026 to see a cut of over 60% in their sales for every dollar they spend.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Apple\u2019s CEO, Tim Cook, speaking at the 2021 Computers, Privacy and Data Protection conference on January 28<span class=\"s3\"><sup>th<\/sup><\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketingweek.com\/apple-data-privacy\/\"><span class=\"s2\">retorted<\/span><\/a>, \u201cTechnology does not need vast troves of personal data, stitched together across dozens of websites and apps in order to succeed. Advertising existed and thrived for decades without it. We\u2019re here today because the path of least resistance is rarely the path of wisdom.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Cook went on to add, \u201cIf a business is built on misleading users, on data exploitation, on choices that are not choices at all, then it does not deserve our praise. It deserves reform. We should not look away from the bigger picture\u2026 In a moment of rapid disinformation and conspiracy theories juiced by algorithms, we can no longer turn a blind eye to a theory of technology that says all engagement is good engagement. The longer the better and we can go on collecting as much data as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">For now, Apple has delayed the rollout of this prompt, giving developers time to get everything implemented and running. But starting with the next iOS Beta, the prompt will be officially launched.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Through their pivot from strictly desktop internet to mobile, Facebook has rendered themselves largely powerless, at the mercy of the hardware and software vendors whose frameworks support their apps.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span> With firm control over their devices and their customers\u2019 trust in their financial interest, Apple is well positioned to wipe out entire swaths of Facebook\u2019s revenue, and there isn\u2019t a whole lot Facebook can do about it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><em>Follow Harry Khachatrian on<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Harry1T6\"><span class=\"s2\"><em>Twitter<\/em><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>The views expressed in this piece are the author\u2019s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<\/em>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><em>member<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For years, Apple and Facebook have clashed over both privacy and consumer rights. But tensions between these tech titans have now reached a climax as Apple\u2019s incoming privacy policy change &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2181487,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-1090897606-1200x800-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Inside The Privacy Battle Raging Between Apple And Facebook","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-145559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-1090897606-1200x800-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Inside The Privacy Battle Raging Between Apple And Facebook","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2181487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}