Over the past few weeks, the clash between Facebook and Apple has been heating up. Apple kicked things off by changing iOS 14’s privacy policies, requiring apps like Facebook to get user permission before collecting data for ads.
Facebook argues this move will kill small businesses. They even took out full-page ads in major newspapers like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post to criticize Apple.
In this fight, Facebook looks desperate. But it’s not surprising, this is just the peak of a series of events that started years ago.
How Facebook grew fast by breaking everything
“Move fast and break things. Unless you’re breaking stuff, you’re not moving fast enough,” said Mark Zuckerberg.
“Move fast and break things” was Facebook’s motto for years. It guided managers and designers but also became part of the company’s DNA.
Facebook did grow incredibly fast, and it broke a lot along the way.
It even broke important things, like users’ trust. Many people realized that while Facebook is free, they’re actually paying by becoming the product.
For example, to get features like keeping up with friends and family, rich news feeds, and videos tailored to your interests, users were encouraged to sell their online souls, in the form of personal data that Facebook then sells to advertisers.
Once users understood how valuable their data was, battles against Facebook began. There were waves of boycotts and calls to delete Facebook. But the network was just too big and kept standing strong through every scandal. After one controversy after another, billions still use Facebook.
Facebook wasn’t scared of those challenges. But there’s one thing it fears: Apple’s new update that lets users block Facebook from collecting their personal data.
Facebook’s pointless fight
The truth is Facebook is fiercely opposing Apple because it knows Apple’s changes will seriously hurt its ad revenue.
What about Facebook’s claim that Apple’s update will make the internet worse?
Facebook says this will force your favorite websites to go behind paywalls, “making the internet more expensive and reducing quality free content.”
But free content on the internet has been declining for years. Many online publishers have switched to other revenue models like monthly subscriptions or product sales.
In other words, Facebook isn’t just fighting Apple, it’s fighting the future.
Facebook declared war on Apple to force a rollback of privacy rules. But that’s pointless. Facebook can’t control Apple’s policies, which don’t break any laws and actually protect users. Apple has no reason to listen to Facebook.
If Facebook keeps going down this path, it won’t gain anything. Instead, it should face reality and change its own business model.
This pointless war shows Facebook doesn’t want to change. Understandable, since it has weathered storms before without damage, even growing revenue and users.
Clearly, Facebook has sat on its throne for a long time. There was no threat forcing it to change. But that time has come, and without change, Facebook is setting itself up for collapse.
Source: inc
