It’s been said that data is the oil of the 21st century. That’s because just like traditional crude oil in years gone by, data is a vast, incredibly-valuable, and still predominantly untapped resource. And crucially, powerful interests now seem to think it’s worth going to war over.
This month the battle for control over our online data reached a boiling point, with a pair of titans making power moves hoping to secure access to it over the coming years.
So today we’re strapping on our flak jackets and wading onto the battlefield so we can examine the so-called Privacy War kicking off right now between Apple and Facebook.
Facebook has built a phenomenally successful and lucrative business over the past decade and a half – although it’s not necessarily obvious how Facebook makes money.
After all, unlike say Spotify or Netflix, Facebook demands no monthly subscription, with no in-app purchases, from it’s astonishing 2.7 billion-strong user base.
You scroll, you post, you ‘like’, and it’s all free… right?
Apple’s New Transparency Requirement
Apple’s new App Tracking Transparency feature, which will automatically be enabled on iOS in early spring, forces app developers to explicitly ask for permission from users to track and share information for cross-platform ad targeting.
With App Tracking Transparency, Apple requires every iOS app to ask you upfront if they’re allowed to share your information with data brokers and other networks, so they can serve mobile ads to you and measure your response to those ads.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg criticized Apple’s new changes publicly, saying they were specifically put in place to put Facebook at a disadvantage. Zuckerberg says Apple is Facebook’s biggest competitor.
But while Apple is adding more privacy features to give its users more control, Facebook is moving in the other direction
Facebook recently announced changes to the WhatsApp Privacy Policy that have some users outraged...
