After a seven-month delay, Apple has rolled out a new privacy feature ostensibly aimed at giving users more control over how their data is gathered and used. The move comes after months of attacks between Apple
"What this feud demonstrates more than anything is that Facebook and Apple have tremendous gatekeeping powers over the market," Elizabeth Renieris, founding director of the Technology Ethics Lab at the University of Notre Dame, told The Associated Press (AP).
Apple's new "App Tracking Transparency" feature is being rolled out as a part of the iOS 14.5 update initiated on Monday and will require all apps, including those already installed on the device, to request permission before gathering user data. This permission request must also include information explaining why the app is collecting data in the first place.
This new feature is meant to protect users from the privacy risks posed by unfettered data-gathering, "both because of the increasing amount of data they have on their devices, and their sensitivity is increasing," Apple's chief privacy engineer Erik Neuenschwander told the AP.
Apple CEO Tim Cook also spoke about the danger posed by social media algorithms and tracking when it comes to spreading misinformation and hate speech.
"What are the consequences of not just tolerating but rewarding content that undermines public trust in life-saving vaccinations?" Cook asked in a speech a few weeks following the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection. "What are the consequences of seeing thousands of users join extremist groups and then perpetuating an algorithm that recommends more?"
However, Facebook has argued that Apple has a vested interest in encouraging apps to charge for their services rather than making a profit by running targeted ads. A 15% to 30% cut of most payments processed through iPhone apps is sent to Apple. Facebook claims that requiring those apps to ask for permission for ad-targeting will hurt app developers more than it will hurt the social media company itself.
This is partly due to the fact the Facebook predicts that, as advertisers leave apps that no longer use targeting, they will converge on Facebook's audience network for promotion. Facebook has also claimed that those no longer able to promote their products and services through these ads will now be more likely to sell using Facebook's own platforms.
"It's possible that we may even be in a stronger position if Apple's changes encourage more businesses to conduct more commerce on our platforms by making it harder for them to use their data in order to find the customers that would want to use their products outside of our platforms," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during a discussion on PressClub.
Zuckerberg has also argued that users are would rather give up their data to get targeted ads and free app usage than pay for an app that won't sell their data.
"People get for the most part that if they are going to see ads, they want them to be relevant ads," Zuckerberg said.
In response to Apple's new feature, Facebook announced in August of last year that they would "no longer collect the identifier for advertisers on its own apps for iOS 14 devices," according to the AP. The site is also asking businesses to create new accounts for running ads that comply with Apple's new guidelines. In response to that decision, Facebook's stock saw a 5% jump.
While Facebook and many experts are framing Apple's decision as a good thing for the social media platform, Facebook executives initially acknowledged that this change was likely to reduce their annual revenue by billions of dollars.
This new transparency feature effectively gives Apple a regulatory role over apps on its devices. This is in keeping with the general trend towards more gatekeeping power being concentrated amongst these huge tech companies. Lawmakers have also noticed this trend, leading to a series of antitrust lawsuits by the federal government.
Facebook is facing antitrust pressure to break the company apart. Google and Apple are facing an antitrust case related in part to their roughly $11 billion arrangement that establishes Google as the preferred search engine on Apple devices. Apple is also facing scrutiny over the commissions it collects on iPhone app purchases as well as its role as a de facto regulator over the app market.
"Even if Apple's business model and side in this battle is more rights protective and better for consumer privacy, there is still a question of whether we want a large corporation like Apple effectively 'legislating' through the app store," Renieris told the AP.
