Facebook is ready to take on Apple in court as it considers filing a case against the Cupertino giant over the anti-tracking features of its iOS 14.

There is a looming legal battle and it will involve two giants of the tech industry. Reports indicate that Facebook is preparing to file a case against Apple over the company's iOS 14 anti-tracking features. Some industry sources, however, say that the legal threat of the social media giant is not set in stone, leaving many to wonder whether Facebook will make good on its threat of taking Apple to court.

   

Quoting sources, a news report published by The Information, an online news outlet, said that Facebook is working with an external legal counsel on the lawsuit, which reportedly alleges Apple is "abusing its power in the smartphone market by forcing app developers to adhere to App Store rules that Apple's own apps don't have to follow." The squabble between Facebook and Apple began when the iPhone maker decided to include in its iOS 14 an anti-tracking feature, something that could reduce by great proportions the ad revenues of Facebook.

An Escalation

If Facebook pushes ahead with filing a case against Apple over its iOS 14 anti-tracking feature, then it would be an escalation of an already deteriorating relationship between the two tech titans. However, sources familiar with the matter said that the social media giant might eventually decide not to go ahead with it. They say that Facebook presently confronts "internal resistance" from employees over the social media giant's high-profile fight with the Cupertino tech titan.

According to The Information report, Facebook's lawsuit centers on an upcoming iOS 14 anti-tracking change that will clearly ask permission from the user to allow the app to track them. During the last quarter of 2020, Facebook launched an ad campaign against the decision of Apple to include the privacy feature in its iOS update, saying it could drastically lower ad revenue and damage small businesses.

The Lawsuit's Objective

While the social media giant could ask the court for monetary damages in its lawsuit, sources say the main objective of Facebook is taking Apple to court is to dissuade it from going ahead with its plan to launch the anti-tracking feature in the next iOS 14 update, as well as to reconsider its decision on app privacy labels. Facebook reportedly is also considering asking other companies to join in their complaint.

This is not the first time that Facebook expressed a willingness to take Apple to court. Last year, the social media giant said it has documents that would help Epic Games in its legal fight with Apple. Although Apple and Facebook steered clear of each other for many years, tensions over user data and privacy issues flared up, which might be one of the factors why Apple is firm on including the anti-privacy feature in its next iOS 14 update, a decision that Facebook did not take lightly. Whether or not Facebook does take Apple to court over its anti-tracking feature remains largely to be seen. The situation, at this point, is volatile and might change anytime.