Why are Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook feuding? From Cambridge Analytica to augmented reality and even a full-page newspaper ad – a timeline of the Meta and Apple CEOs’ fights
- Cook publicly said in 2014 that one should be worried if a company is ‘collecting gobs of personal data’ in a dig against Google and Facebook, and he and Zuckerberg have exchanged heated comments since
- Apple has been facing antitrust scrutiny from Congress and has been criticised by Epic Games for the 30 per cent fee it takes from App Store purchases, while Apple’s iOS update affected Facebook’s ad business
The two tech titans have been bickering since at least 2014, trading barbs over each other’s products and business models. Over the years, their battle has escalated to include public jabs, pointed ad campaigns and even a legal dispute.
Here’s when the rivalry began – and everything that’s happened since.
How Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook’s feud began in 2014
The feud between Zuckerberg and Cook became public in 2014, when Cook lambasted Facebook’s business model.
In September 2014, Cook gave an in-depth interview with Charlie Rose that touched on a range of topics, including privacy.
During the interview – which took place in the weeks following the infamous leaks of multiple female celebrities’ nude photos stored on their iCloud accounts – Cook espoused Apple’s commitment to privacy while denouncing the business models of companies like Google and Facebook.
“I think everyone has to ask, how do companies make their money? Follow the money,” Cook said. “And if they’re making money mainly by collecting gobs of personal data, I think you have a right to be worried. And you should really understand what’s happening to that data.”
Soon after, Cook reiterated his stance in an open letter on Apple’s dedicated privacy site. “A few years ago, users of internet services began to realise that when an online service is free, you’re not the customer. You’re the product,” Cook wrote.
Cook’s comments rankled Zuckerberg, who called the claims “ridiculous” and blasted Apple products as being expensive.
In an interview with Time later that year, Zuckerberg was reportedly visibly irritated by Cook’s assertions.
“A frustration I have is that a lot of people increasingly seem to equate an advertising business model with somehow being out of alignment with your customers,” Zuckerberg told Time. “I think it’s the most ridiculous concept. What, you think because you’re paying Apple that you’re somehow in alignment with them? If you were in alignment with them, then they’d make their products a lot cheaper!”