Snippet: Then Go Make Your Own Phone ☇

Samuel Axon for Ars Technica:

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees close to him, “we need to inflict pain” on Apple for comments by Apple CEO Tim Cook that Zuckerberg described as “extremely glib.”

This and other insights into an ongoing rift between the two companies appeared in a report in The Wall Street Journal this weekend. The article indicates that based on first-hand reports, Zuckerberg has taken Cook and Apple’s public criticisms of Facebook’s privacy policies, whether direct or indirect, as personal affronts.[…]

The disputes reached new prominence last year, when Apple announced plans to require that iOS apps ask users for permission to track them with IDFA (ID For Advertisers) tags across apps and websites. The change in policy is already reflected in Apple’s terms of service for app developers but will not be enforced until early spring, after the release of iOS 14.5.

Facebook, whose business model and competitive advantage rely on this kind of tracking, responded by telling investors to expect falling revenues—and by running full-page newspaper ads declaring that the change would hurt small businesses.

If the business model for Facebook relies on being creepy, maybe they should’ve found something else so that Apple doing the bare minimum for people not to be tracked doesn’t upend their entire business. At this point, Facebook has proven time and time again that it will take the creepiest way out, has caused the spread of misinformation, and is playing the victim role, despite the fact that they can still extensively track you while doing Facebook-related activities inside their apps.