There was a time when Facebook and Apple had a good relationship. Later, as Facebook grew and started collecting data indiscriminately, the relationship deteriorated rapidly. In this context, the NYT published an interesting anecdote about Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg a few years ago.
A progressive distance resulting from the vision of private life
The distance between Apple and Facebook, or between Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg, began in 2018. Around this time, Tim Cook began to be more clear about privacy and defend it as a “fundamental human right”. That same year 2018, Facebook was involved in a major crisis. Zuckerberg testified before Congress where he was asked how the social network allowed the data leak of more than 50 million users
In this context, during an interview with MSNBC, Tim Cook was asked what he would do if he found himself in Zuckerberg’s shoes. The Apple CEO’s response was met with laughter and applause from the audience when he emphatically stated that “I would not find myself in this position”.
Since then, the issue of privacy and data collection has been present in Tim Cook’s interviews. During a conference within the framework of the CPDP of the European Union, the executive of Apple made a clear reference to Facebook, but without mentioning its name:
If a business is based on user deception, data mining, elections [del usuario] which are not elections at all, it does not deserve our praise, it deserves reform.
In April 2021, with the announcement of App Tracking Transparency, the privacy issue returned because Facebook called the new feature an “existential crisis” for its business
“Everything we do, Kara [la entrevistadora], is to give the user the option of being tracked or not. And I think it’s hard to argue against that. I’ve been surprised there’s been a push back on this so far.”
Tim Cook’s response to Mark Zukerberg
Set against the backdrop of recent years, the NYT reflects how Mark Zuckerberg asked Tim Cook for advice during a meeting in July 2019. This meeting was held at the invitation of the investment bank Allen & Company in a context where the Cambridge Analytica scandal hit hard.
“During the meeting, Zuckerberg asked Cook how he would handle the fallout from the crisis, people familiar with the conversation said. Mr. Cook replied bitterly that Facebook should delete all information he had collected on people outside of his core apps. Mr. Zuckerberg was stunned, said the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly.”
An answer, which beyond curiosity, allows us to glimpse the scale of values that Apple applies when making decisions about privacy. We know privacy is built into Apple products, but that’s no coincidence or fluke. This is the result of measures such as the transparency of application tracking, which is already part of our lives, and the systematic respect of the user and the fundamental human right of privacy.
In Applesphere | Apple has never been against advertising. This video of Steve Jobs clearly demonstrates it
