Why Mark Zuckerberg Is Taking the Wrong Approach Against Apple
Facebook could do a better job explaining its value proposition
By now, most people already know Facebook and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, are hell-bent on capturing user data and making money off of it (the subject of at least two popular documentaries about it on Netflix). And now, in a bold demonstration of force, Apple CEO Tim Cook has come charging in atop his noble white steed (also available in Space Gray™ and Rose Gold™) to protect consumers. His weapon of choice to defend all of us from Zuckerberg’s big brother empire is a pop-up message in the upcoming update to the iPhone’s operating system that asks users if they want to opt out of Facebook’s creepy cross-app data tracking.
As you can imagine, Zuckerberg isn’t happy about this. He’s battling back with a series of scathing newspaper ads and blog posts criticizing Apple’s tactics as being monopolistic (he might have a point) and bad for small businesses (a more debatable point). The conflict is like watching an episode of HBO’s Silicon Valley that was inspired by Game of Thrones and Mad Men, which would probably be entertaining if not for the very real implications for millions of consumers.
At stake in the war between these two tech titans is our fundamental right to digital privacy. At…
