Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, and Tim Cook, CEO of Apple met in July of 2019. The purpose of this meeting was to improve relations between them. This meeting took place during the activities of one of the conferences, during which they meet from time to time. But during this period, Zuckerberg was suffering from the aftermath of a data leakage problem known as the Cambridge Analytica scandal. This is where the data of 50 million users of the platform was leaked and this data was used to influence American voters.
During their meeting, Zuckerberg asked Apple's CEO what he would have done if he had been in his place. Here, he responded that Facebook should delete user data that was collected without their permission or by tracking them outside its apps.
The dispute between Apple and Facebook
Zuckerberg was surprised by Tim Cook's advice, as he found it strange and illogical. As Facebook relies mainly on collecting user data to know more about them and then targeting them with sponsored ads.
This day can be considered as the day of enmity between Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook. Two years after this event, Apple revealed a new and major update related to privacy, and the update introduced a new feature that allows the user to control the tracking.
Through this new feature, the user can refuse or agree to be tracked by applications. This feature constitutes a huge attack from Apple on Facebook.
The companies that provide advertising services, most notably Facebook, rely on tracking users completely. The Facebook app is able to track you when you leave it and go to another app, and it knows as soon as you install a new app, along with the sites you visit, and more.
It is this information that allows him to target you with ads that really interest you because he knows what works for you based on the analysis of a large amount of data.
The way that Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg work differs greatly. As the formerly offered products truly preserve users' privacy and digital security, but they are always paid. The second one offers completely free social networks and services. But in return, you sacrifice your data and privacy.
The relationship between Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg was not good in previous times. Especially after a company was founded by Facebook and other companies to publish critical and misleading articles about Tim Cook, and that he will run for president, and some explain that the aim was to spoil the relationship of Tim Cook and Donald Trump at the time in 2017.
Apple has confirmed that the new anti-tracking feature stems from the idea that the user has the right to choose whether or not to be tracked. While Facebook, on the other hand, believes that Apple aims only to profit from the new feature and that it threatens store owners and small businesses who market their products through Facebook.
Over the past years, Tim Cook has kept away from Facebook and not strengthened relations with it. Because he was very concerned about privacy and digital security, which is totally against the way Facebook works.