On a preview of an interview with The New York Times‘Kara Swisher, due to be released on Monday, April 5, Apple CEO Tim Cook said he was “shocked” by the criticism that Apple has received in recent months about the upcoming privacy changes on iOS, and stated that it is “difficult to argue against.”
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Apple plans to start applying App Tracking Transparency (ATT) changes after the release of iOS 14.5, which means that all apps that access an iPhone ad identifier, or IDFA, will need to ask the user for permission before tracking is allowed. allowed.
The move has sparked criticism from some companies, notably Facebook, which argues that the new changes will hurt small businesses.
Facebook says that small businesses rely on tracking to deliver personalized ads and that, with ATT, those ads will be less effective. However, when asked in the interview about how ATT will impact Facebook, Cook said he “is not focused on Facebook” and that he does not know.
Swisher asked, “What is your response to Facebook’s response – which is quite vehement – calling you essentially an existential crisis for their business?” Cook replied, “All we’re doing, Kara, is giving the user the choice of whether to be tracked or not. And I think it’s hard to argue with that. I was – I was shocked that there was a setback in this to this degree.”
Facebook initially did everything against ATT; however, the company has recently changed its tone. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg now says it is possible that the new change could benefit Facebook, giving it an edge in the online commerce space.
It is possible that we may be in a stronger position if Apple’s changes encourage more companies to do more trade on our platforms, making it more difficult for them to use their data to find customers who would like to use their products outside of our platforms.
Cook’s most recent comments are just an excerpt from the full interview to be published on Monday, in which the CEO discusses removing Parler from the App Store, the power of Big Tech and what it’s like to be called “Tim Apple”.