The tension between Facebook and Apple continues to rise. According to a report by The Information, Facebook could sue Apple for monopolistic practices alleged in the App Store.
Facebook would claim that Apple has abused its power in the smartphone market by forcing developers to follow the rules in the App Store that their own apps don’t follow.
According to 9to5Mac, Facebook would have hired external legal advisors to set up an antitrust lawsuit against Apple. In this sense, the social network would be willing to take on a long-lasting dispute in court.
The social media giant has not hesitated to target Apple over privacy changes to iOS. In December 2020, it launched a smear campaign with full-page ads in newspapers such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. Mark Zuckerberg’s company at the time called Apple’s measures “devastating” for millions of companies choosing its advertising platform.
The lawsuit would focus on the changes that Apple is making to iOS 14. One of the key points would be the new monitoring transparency policy (ATT). This feature asks the user for authorization before collecting data for advertising purposes, which came into effect last week.
Although, the report also says that indicates that Facebook employees are trying to pressure executives not to initiate a monopoly lawsuit against Apple. Several Facebook employees refuse to lead a high-profile legal battle against Apple. The reasons would have to do with the legal disputes that the company is facing right now over the handling of its users’ data.
