SAN RAMON, Calif. – Apple CEO Tim Cook on Thursday launched a series of covert shootings against Facebook and other social media companies, escalating an online privacy battle that puts the iPhone maker ahead of digital services that depend on tracking people. to help sell ads.
“Too many still ask the question” how much can we get rid of? ”When we should ask ourselves“ what are the consequences? ” Cook said. “What are the consequences not only of tolerance but also of content that undermines public confidence in life-saving vaccinations?” What are the consequences of seeing thousands of users join extremist groups and then perpetuate an algorithm that recommends more? ”
Speaking at a virtual international conference on computers, privacy and data protection, Cook said it was “time to stop claiming that this approach does not come at a cost – polarization, lost trust and yes, violence.”
Cook never called Facebook FB,
or any other company. But his remarks left little doubt that his missives were directed at social networking sites that were criticized for allowing conspiracy theories, hate speech and political misinformation that culminated in the January 6 insurgency that surpassed the U.S. Chapter in while Congress met to confirm the election of President Joe Biden.
“A social dilemma cannot be allowed to become a social catastrophe,” Cook added, referring to a Netflix documentary about the corrosive effects of technology – and especially social media – on society. The film also targeted Facebook and how its algorithms manipulate the nearly 3 billion users to make them watch ads that generate most of its revenue.
Cook’s side came as Apple AAPL,
is preparing to launch a new privacy check in early spring to prevent iPhone apps from secretly hiding people. It is set to appear after a more than six-month delay in placing Facebook and other digital services that rely on such data surveillance to help sell ads.
Although Apple did not provide a specific date, the general calendar unveiled on Thursday means that the long-awaited protection, known as application tracking transparency, will be part of an iPhone software update that is likely to arrive in late March or at some point in April.
After delaying the planned introduction in September of protection measures amid a cry led by Facebook, Apple previously said it would come out earlier this year. Apple has released the latest update to the program as part of Data Privacy Day.
Apple wanted to give Facebook and other app makers more time to adapt to a feature that will require iPhone users to give their explicit consent to be tracked. Analysts expect a significant number of users to refuse this permission once their consent is needed. Currently, iPhone users are frequently tracked by the apps they install, unless they take an extra step to access iPhone settings to prevent this.
“Technology doesn’t need vast personal data, combined across dozens of websites and applications, to be successful,” Cook said. “Advertising has existed and thrived for decades without it.”
As a supplement to Cook’s remarks, Apple has also released an 11-page report to illustrate how many apps can learn about their users in everyday life.
Facebook stepped up its attacks on Apple’s new privacy check last month in a series of full-page ads in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other national newspapers. This campaign suggested that some free digital services would be reduced if they couldn’t compile personal information to personalize ads. On Wednesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg questioned Apple’s reasons for the changes, saying the iPhone maker “has every incentive” to use its own mobile platform to interfere with rivals in its own messaging app.
“Apple might say they’re doing this to help people, but the moves are clearly in their competitive interests,” Zuckerberg said.
GOOGL Alphabet,
GOOG,
Google, which also relies on personal data to power the Internet’s largest ad network, has not joined Facebook in its criticism of Apple’s future tracking controls. Google is taking advantage of the fact that it is the default search engine on the iPhone, a popular position for which Apple pays about $ 9 billion to $ 12 billion annually.
But Google warned in a blog post on Wednesday that Apple’s new controls will have a significant impact on the advertising revenue on iPhones of other applications in its digital network. Google has said that a “handful” of its own iPhone apps will be affected by the new requirement, but plans to make changes so that they are not affected by Apple’s new controls. Did not identify which applications.
“We are committed to maintaining a vibrant and open application ecosystem where people can access a wide range of advertising content, with the confidence that privacy and their choices are respected,” wrote Christophe Combette, group product manager for Google Ads.