Famed author Walter Isaacson is wading into the debate between two of Silicon Valley’s biggest forces: Apple and Facebook.
In an interview with Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer, Isaacson discussed how technology needs to help humanity, adding that Apple (AAPL) is on the right track, while Facebook (FB) and other social media networks are allowing for the spread of disinformation and anger.
“I think we always have to worry about whether tech is a force for good,” Isaacson said. “I think Apple actually is, in general, because it's both protecting our privacy, and it's not basing its entire business model on the advertising model, which means harvesting...all of your information and microtargeting things to you.”
Isaacson, author of the new book, “The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race,” said he doesn’t mind targeted advertising, but that it becomes dangerous when it comes to political and advertising ads.
Apple and Facebook have been locked in a heated battle over user privacy and data for years. Apple CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly called out Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg, for how it capitalizes on user information and allows the spread of disinformation.
In a January speech during this year’s virtual version of the Computers, Privacy, and Data Protection conference, Cook railed against algorithm-driven social media platforms, saying they are, “an interconnected ecosystem of companies and data brokers, of purveyors of fake news and peddlers of division, of trackers and hucksters just looking to make a quick buck.”
Isaacson said he believes Facebook and Twitter (TWTR) need to take more responsibility for the algorithms they use that tend to “incent people to get enraged and pass along misinformation.”
Isaacson, who famously authored “Steve Jobs” a biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, told Serwer that the late Apple executive never moved the company into the social media space, because he wasn’t comfortable with the idea.
“He was very careful in making sure that people had control of their technology instead of the technology having control of them. And he's a model to me of how people should approach the digital age, And that's why he wasn't that comfortable with social media and social networks,” Isaacson said.
Facebook, for its part, says that Apple’s privacy push is a way for it to gain leverage over consumers and force them to pay more for apps.
The social media company claims that an upcoming move by Apple to restrict advertiser tracking in iOS, will hurt developers who offer free apps that generate revenue through advertisements. If those developers can’t make money through ads, Facebook says, they will be forced to charge users cash for them instead.
That, according to Facebook, would allow Apple to fill its coffers, thanks to the 30% fee the company charges for the sale of apps purchased through its App Store.
Facebook is now reportedly preparing an antitrust suit against Apple as a result of its move to restrict advertiser tracking. The company is also offering its assistance to “Fortnite” developer Epic in the video game maker’s antitrust suit against Apple.
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