Apple and Facebook, two tech giants seemingly at odds over privacy issues thrown at the latter, have denied that there is personal friction between its chiefs Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg.
No Personal Grudges Or No Holds Barred?
The two tech companies have been at the center of recent reports after Apple Monday announced a new privacy feature that now requires iPhone users to be clear if they want to let Facebook and other apps track their data from other apps.
When asked for an interview regarding the alleged fallout out between the two CEOs, Apple and Facebook denied that Cook and Zuckerberg had personal tensions.
However, Monday's announcement on the new privacy feature raised questions about just how long the animosity between Cook and Zuckerberg has been running and what triggered it.
People with knowledge about a meeting between tech and media bosses in July 2019 told The New York Times that during the conference, Zuckerberg asked for advice from Cook on how he should handle the Cambridge Analytica fallout.
Cook reportedly said Facebook should remove information it collected about users on third-party apps. Zuckerberg didn't take the advice. However, there were already rumors about their alleged animosity even before the 2019 Allen & Company conference.
Zuckerberg had a closer relationship with Apple's late co-founder Steve Jobs, but he has not dined nor taken walks with Cook like he did with Jobs.
During the heated months of the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018, Cook said Facebook's business model, which he referred to as selling users to advertisers, was something Apple "elected not to do."
Zuckerberg responded, stating that Cook's comments were "extremely glib, and not at all aligned with the truth.
The Facebook CEO said the company's advertising-supported model was created to connect everyone around the world through the internet, even those who don't have the means to pay for the connection service.
Cook Draws First Blood
In what could be the latest jab at Facebook's privacy-related issues, the new privacy feature for iPhone users is believed to be a direct hit on Facebook and other apps that target user information for ads.
Called the App Tracking Transparency feature, Apple's update has taken Facebook to a whole new level of tech wars as the latter has resisted the consent-centric transition for iPhone users.
CEO of personal privacy manages company DataGrail, Daniel Barber, said Apple's move is "an important step toward consumers getting the transparency and the controls they have been looking for."
Facebook thinks otherwise. A spokeswoman for the social media site said Apple is "trying to rewrite the rules in a way that benefits them and holds back everyone else."
