Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, added his voice to a chorus of criticism of Apple's software policy by claiming that the App Store poses a conflict of interest. In a conversation with the New York Times DealBook conference on Wednesday, Zuckerberg stated, "It is troublesome for one firm to be able to dictate what app experiences come up on a device." According to him, Apple receives "the vast bulk of income in the mobile ecosystem."
Technology businesses aiming to reach large mobile audiences have long taken issue with Apple's and, to a lesser extent, Alphabet's parent company Google's App Store restrictions and fees. After buying Twitter, billionaire Elon Musk joined the chorus and this week sent a barrage of tweets criticising Apple's fees and limitations on what applications may be marketed.
Some of Musk's remarks were mirrored by Zuckerberg. He referred to Apple's app content management guidelines as having a "conflict of interest" because they frequently target competitors. Apple is now "more than just a governor watching out for people's interests" as a result. Since Apple updated its privacy restrictions to limit how users may be watched and targeted with advertising, revenue at Meta, which owns social networks Facebook and Instagram, has suffered.
Musk on Wednesday retracted some of his criticism of the iPhone manufacturer, saying he met with CEO Tim Cook at the company's headquarters and had a "good conversation" that clarified a "misunderstanding" about Twitter's position in the App Store, despite Zuckerberg appearing to support his opposition to Apple's policies.
Regarding Musk's strategy for operating Twitter, Zuckerberg was evasive in his remarks, saying that he believes certain techniques will succeed and others won't. It will be fascinating to see how this develops, he thought.
Zuckerberg avoided answering the question of whether Meta would reinstate former US President Donald Trump on Facebook, instead citing previous advice the business has received from its external Oversight Board, which has the authority to weigh in on content-related decisions. In January, Meta is anticipated to make a choice.
As ad income has slowed, Wall Street has grown more sceptical about Meta's investment in its loss-making virtual reality company. Earlier this month, Zuckerberg announced the firm will eliminate more than 11,000 positions and accepted personal accountability for actions that necessitated cost-cutting measures. Meta announced its first-ever quarterly sales decline in April.
The opening of the interview on Wednesday featured a recorded chat between Zuckerberg and the interviewer's avatars in the virtual realm known as the metaverse. Zuckerberg said that it is "essentially erroneous" to assume that Meta is just concerned with the metaverse. The messaging service WhatsApp will be his next major goal for revenue since it is "mostly unexplored," he claimed.
He mentioned development in Reels, the business's short-form video product, noting that some estimates indicate it receives half the traffic of TikTok outside of China.
In addition, Zuckerberg brought up the question of ByteDance, a Beijing-based company, owning TikTok and stated that there are "real questions" regarding the influence of the Chinese government on the platform. The CEO noted that "in certain nations, all data flows to the government."
