Facebook

The Apple versus Facebook battle escalated quickly this week! The two companies had been on opposite sides for some time when it came to ad-tracking, but Facebook dramatically upped the ante when it ran full-page newspaper ads attacking Apple – with more reportedly planned.

It’s a battle Facebook almost certainly cannot win. The risk to Apple, however, is that it is very possible both companies could lose …

Facebook and Apple started a sort of battle today due to the new App Store privacy guidelines that were announced earlier this year and are now being required for all developers. After running a full-page ad in US newspapers today, Facebook is now planning another similar ad for tomorrow that says Apple wants to “stop the internet from being free.”

After a barrage of criticism from Facebook today, Apple is yet again doubling down on its forthcoming App Tracking Transparency feature. The feature will launch to users in 2021, and Apple says it “does not require Facebook to change its approach to tracking users.”

We’ve seen Facebook attack Apple repeatedly of late, but the company is today really upping the ante by running full-page ads in at least three US newspapers.

The ads claim that Facebook is standing up to the iPhone maker on behalf of small businesses …

Update: Facebook has published a blog post with more details. It also says it will back Epic Games in its ongoing legal battle over the App Store.

Facebook is once again taking swipes at Apple, this time in regards to new legislation in the European Union that focuses on how Apple runs the App Store and its preinstalled, first-party apps. In a statement to Reuters, a Facebook spokesman said that the company “hopes” the new legislation will “set boundaries for Apple.”

After being available as a private beta, Facebook’s new ‘Collab’ app that lets musicians remotely record video and combine their parts is available to the public. The iOS app is a hybrid between short-form video like TikTok and social collaboration with a focus on music creation and allows users to create their own “Collabs” or join in with others on existing ones.

The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it is suing Facebook. The lawsuit accuses Facebook of “illegally maintaining its personal social networking monopoly through a years-long course of anticompetitive conduct.” A separate lawsuit has also been filed by a coalition of 48 attorneys general led by New York AG Letitia James.

A new report from App Annie today highlights some of the mobile app trends of 2020. TikTok has booted Facebook from its reign as the most-downloaded app while iOS and Android downloads are expected to hit 130 billion with global spending forecasted to hit $112 billion this year.

Facebook announced today more changes in its policy against fake news on its social networks. The company will now be more aggressive in punishing users who share misleading information on Facebook and also Instagram.

Snapchat features continue to roll into the messaging apps on Facebook and Instagram. The latest is dubbed “Vanish Mode” and as the name suggests, offers users the ability to send texts, photos, emoji, voice messages, and more that disappear after being seen. It’s starting to roll out first to Facebook Messenger and also coming to Instagram chats.

Three tech giants had to take action in response to presidential election hoaxes. This included Twitter placing a warning on a tweet by Donald Trump, which falsely accused the Democrats of trying to ‘steal’ the election.

Twitter stated that the tweet violated its civic integrity policy, which says that users ‘may not use Twitter’s services for the purpose of manipulating or interfering in elections’ …

Facebook is now beginning a broader rollout of Dark Mode support on iOS. This comes 5 months after Facebook confirmed its plans to roll out Dark Mode support for iOS, and over a year after Dark Mode came to the iPhone with iOS 13.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has claimed that a pending version of Apple’s ad-tracking policy will hurt small businesses when it is introduced next year. Further, he says Apple could damage the economic recovery from the coronavirus crisis.

Zuckerberg’s attack relates to a privacy change Apple originally made in iOS 14 and subsequently agreed to delay to give the ad industry time to react …

Epic Games has stepped up its rhetoric against Apple, claiming that the App Store contract is illegal and that Apple’s view of what is reasonable is “crazy and misguided.”

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney yesterday tweeted his view on the dispute …

A new report from The Wall Street Journal this week outlines how Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has recently “transformed himself into an active political operator.” The report includes the tidbit that Zuckerberg has specifically called on lawmakers to increase their scrutiny of Apple.

Facebook has been complaining about Apple since the company introduced a new privacy feature in the iOS 14 beta that forces developers to ask users before tracking them across the web. David Fischer, Facebook’s chief revenue officer, now said that every business based on advertising is “under assault” by the changes imposed by Apple.

As part of Facebook’s Online Communities Summit, the company made a number of announcements related to Facebook Groups. The most notable and controversial will be a test where Facebook will include public group discussions in users’ News Feed and search results.

Facebook Messenger and Instagram chats are now officially merged, as the company implements the next phase in its planned unified messaging service for Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

We first learned about the company’s plans at the beginning of last year …

Back in August as Facebook rolled out its latest online service for creators, teachers, and small businesses to host virtual events, the company announced it would be waving fees. Google also agreed to waive its 30% commission on Android, however, Apple at the time did not. Now Facebook says Apple has revisited that decision and will stop charging its 30% fee temporarily.

With iOS 14, Apple has opened up its mobile platform more than ever before with the ability to set third-party apps as defaults for mail and browser. Riding on that change, Facebook is criticizing Apple for not opening up messaging on iOS to do the same. All told, Facebook is trying to pressure Apple to make messaging on iOS the same as it is on Android.