Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has come out against comments made by Apple CEO Tim Cook, who said that companies which primarily make money from advertising essentially turn the customer into the product.
Zuckerberg not only said that the notion was ridiculous, but he also pointed the finger at Apple, saying that the company should make its products cheaper.
"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," said Zuckerberg in an interview. "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!"
The privacy policy comments from Tim Cook came shortly after the company was being scrutinized after it was hacked and dozens of female celebrities' nude photos were posted online. In the aftermath of the September incident, Cook used privacy as a way to differentiate Apple from some of its rivals, which often use advertising as a way to make money.
"When an online service is free, you're not the customer. You're the product," said Cook following the hacking. "...I think everyone has to ask, how do companies make their money? Follow the money. And if they're making money mainly by collecting gobs of personal data, I think you have a right to be worried."
While Cook never actually mentioned any companies, it is fairly safe to assume that he was referring to both Google and Facebook. Google Chairman Eric Schmidt also rebutted Cook's statements, saying that Google had the best encryption software in the world and that Cook had not been properly briefed on his rivals.
The free vs. paid argument is nothing new. Many suggest that free services should instead be paid ones rather than make their money by advertising. This is a big privacy issue, since many services that use advertising target their users by collecting personal data and serving ads that they might be more interested in.
Apple is not the only company to disagree with the way that Facebook makes money. Social networking site Ello is aimed at being the "anti-Facebook," saying that it will not collect any user data.
"Your social network is owned by advertisers," says Ello on its website. "Every post you share, every friend you make and every link you follow is tracked, recorded and converted into data. Advertisers buy your data so they can show you more ads. You are the product that's bought and sold."
