It’s always an attraction when two Goliaths battle it out on the big stage.
The problem is, our privacy is on the line. And it’s not exactly clear who has our best interests in mind. We’ve come a long way since the corporate magnates of the last century dominated the lives of Americans.
Henry Ford, J. P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, and John D. Rockefeller all came out of fields like automotive, steel, oil, and banking to make their fortunes and set the tone for what our society would become.
Now, we’re ensconced in the 21st century, and a handful of men (OK, white men) are running the show. And now, the commodity is data, software, and Artificial Intelligence.
In the crosshairs is our data – or better put, our privacy, assuming of course, that those in power in the nation’s capitol have a clue about what’s at stake.
Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Warren Buffett are at the controls. And true to form, there are competitive turf wars playing out as the nation and the world are undergoing the most cataclysmic changes since World War II.
Our data is now the currency.
Perhaps the good news is we’re growing warier and more skeptical. In our Techsurveys, we have included questions about the privacy issue, and the role big tech plays in our lives.
These are big numbers. A near majority strongly agrees with the idea that big tech may not be using our personal information responsibly. Numerous breaches in recent years factor in to these perceptions. And note that general trajectory. In general, older respondents have grown more skeptical about data misuses.
Apple is well aware of this public sentiment about privacy loss by the biggest tech companies – and they’re taking action.
Apple’s new iPhone update – 14.5.1, to be precise. In this update, Apple explains the new software will do all sorts of things – unlock the phone while you’re wearing a mask, offer different skin tones for emojis, new voice option for Siri, and finally this:
App Tracking Transparency lets you control which apps are allowed to track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites.
Once everything is in place, millions and millions of iPhone (and iPad and Watch) owners download the new software and app developers code the iOS changes to our apps, we’ll start getting one-time popups for apps that collect data (illustrated right).
And that’s a game changer for any company whose business is using user data to sell ads – like Facebook. Virtually all of their revenue is leveraged on their collected data so that advertisers and marketers can sell us their wares.
Earlier this week, Seth Resler wrote a great post about how Apple’s new policy might impact Facebook, Google, and other platforms that aggregate data for the purpose of data marketing.
The answer is: profoundly.
While some might view Apple and Facebook as simply two ginormous tech monoliths, they have a very different business model.
Apple mostly sells gadgets – computers, smartphones, tablets, and wearables. Facebook sells ads, leveraged off the content of its billions of users and the data they (or “we”) generate.
The backstory behind Apple’s decision to let consumers make the call about whether to let Facebook – or anyone else – use our data is a clever tactic. And it ostensibly uses research that probably isn’t much different than what we see in Techsurvey 2021 about how personal information and web tracking is collected and used?
Who won’t make the choice: Ask the app not to track my data. Most of us will gleefully take that option, pushing back in our own little way against the powerful force of Facebook.
So, it’s a mano a mano duel between two modern titans, Cook and Zuckerberg. And it’s weaponizing their powerful companies against one another.
This skirmish is far from sudden. In fact, Cook has been taunting Zuckerberg during the past few years.
The Guardian’s Kari Paul calls it “playing chicken” in a recent story, noting these digital industrialists started their duel in 2014 when Cook answered a question about how tech companies use consumer data with this simple comeback;
Follow the money.
And when Facebook was being investigated about its role in propagandizing the 2016 election, Cook was asked what he would do if he ran the world’s largest social media platform.
His response?
“I wouldn’t be in that situation.”
Now it’s mushroomed into a nuclear war of words between Cook and Zuckerberg – and it’s not pretty.
Zuckerberg has attacked Apple’s generous App Store split with developers (30¢ on the dollar), saying it negatively impacts the “creative economy.”
Last week, this trash talking reached a whole new level. In a recent interview with Kara Swisher, Inc’s Jason Aten reports Cook was asked how Apple’s decision will affect Facebook.
And his response is the ultimate dis to a competitor:
“I’m not focused on Facebook, so I don’t know.”
Yes, like a PD who says he doesn’t even listen to his competition – arrogant or just plain savvy?
Cook doubled-down on his company’s relationship with Facebook:
“If I’m asked who our biggest competitors are, they would not be listed.”
Touché.
Of course, there’s another piece of data these bigger-than-life CEOs should be focused on – how most Americans feel about companies like theirs:
A majority now agrees with this idea that some tech giants should be broken up – up sharply from last year. Apparently in “The Year of COVID,” many of us were thinking about the power (yes, data) vested in so few hands and how it’s being deployed. As is the pattern, progressively older respondents are more up in arms.
Will Congress have the bandwidth, the fortitude, and the knowledge to start another round of hearings about who owns our data and how its being used remains to be seen.
But the louder the ruckus from Kong and Godzilla – Cook and Zuckerberg – the greater likelihood this could get end up in D.C.
Pull up a chair. This is getting interesting.
Want to know more about how radio listeners feel about issues like these? Join us tomorrow for a free webinar where we’ll take a deep dive into the results of this year’s Techsurvey.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Why in holy hell would you include the phrase, “OK, white men” in your, “Will The 2021 Clash Of The Tech Titans Be Staged On Our iPhones?” We’re inundated with wokeness from every side and now you’ve thrown your hat in the ring too!?!
You sir are DISGUSTING! No more Jacobs woke-Olympics for this white guy…
Joey, sorry if you think my so-called “wokeness” is out of place or misguided. The fact is, the captains of industry – today and in the last century (and further back) – were almost all WHITE MEN. That isn’t putting a value judgement on it, one way or the other. But since you raised the question, it makes you wonder why so many business disputes and battles boil down to a couple guys fighting it out where ego might overshadow common sense. Just asking.
In the meantime, we’ll miss you, but encourage you to come back if you change your mind, or I go back to being less woke.
I don’t know why this is even controversial. Giving increasingly skeptical consumers the opportunity to decide who sees what for free seems like a no brainer win for Apple. Particularly when Google owned android isn’t likely to follow suit quickly given the potential impact on Google. I could see lots of people switching to iPhones as a result and as you noted, Apple is in the business of selling phones (and other hardware).
And Tim Cook is right – Facebook isn’t a competitor – they sell clicks. Its hard to find good people among the tech giants, but this IMO is an easy one. And frankly, anything that causes Mark Zuckerberg angst probably makes the world a better place.
Hey, Bob, we’re pretty much on the same page on this one. It is a no-brainer, but one that may have a financial tsunami affect on certain tech companies, like them or not.
Very good read, as usual.
I feel this could affect the way stations sell their data. I also think that’s a positive.
I feel that people are just now actually seeing how they’re affected by the way FB and others do business. It’s not ok to sell someone (and it is very much selling someone when you sell their data). They ALSO run TONS of ads. They just put them in your feed, so people scroll past and make jokes how the internet is psychic. Not so much. My point is, Zuch and Google and the like will have to find other ways of making a living other than exploitation.
I feel this will have positive implications. Sure, Apple sells me, too. But not like the others. And Apple ALWAYS appears to have my back.
I have the update, and it pleased me GREATLY to not allow them to track me.
They have to be like us now, always finding new ways to survive.
PS, I LOVE how you acknowledged that these GIANTS are run by white guys who make the decisions for EVERYONE. You, sir, are doing the thing it takes to fix it, acknowledgement and doing your best to affect change. The guy that hates your for it will be completely irrelevant soon enough.
Tammie, thanks for the comment, including your P.S. This is the first time I’ve ever been accused of being “overly woke.” I kind of like it. Appreciate the comment.