Mark Zuckerberg for criticizing Tim cook to Facebook: It is “extremely weak and not true”

Cook has attacked Facebook for how it handles user data, calling users “the product of a social platform.”

Jen Kirby

April 2, 2018,, 6:10 am Eastern time

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Mark Zuckerberg for criticizing Tim cook to Facebook: It is “extremely weak and not true”

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CEO of Facebook mark Zuckerberg has rejected criticism Apple CEO Tim cook’s business model of the company that cook described as the scheme of monetization of customers, calling it “frivolous” and “not aligned with the truth.”

“I think it’s important that all of us not Stockholm syndrome, and let the companies that work hard to charge you more to convince you that they actually care more about you,” said Zuckerberg, co-founder and VOX Ezra Klein on his podcast. “Because it sounds funny to me.”

In an interview with Klein, Zuckerberg described the assessment of cook that Apple has a more robust business model because it sells products to users instead of selling users to advertisers, as “extremely brisk, and generally not aligned with the truth.”

“The reality here is that if you want to build a service that will help to connect everyone in the world, there are many people who cannot afford to pay,” said Zuckerberg. “And so, like many media, an advertising-supported model is the only rational model that can support the construction of this service to reach people.”

Zuckerberg told Klein that Facebook serving people and using AD-Supported business models are not compatible. “I don’t think that this means that we don’t care about people,” said Zuckerberg.

Cook has criticized Facebook in the upcoming interview with recode’s Kara Swisher and msnbc’s Chris Hayes. In a broad conversation, cook also criticized the leadership of Facebook customer data. “We could make a lot of money, if we monetized our customers. If our customers our product,” he said. “We decided not to do it.”

Apple, of course, makes money from sales of products (iPhones, Poppies, accessories, etc.) and services (iCloud). Facebook, on the other hand, is free, so it relies heavily on digital advertising and knowledge of the company about the preferences of Facebook users makes it a lucrative place to advertise.

Cook plead for more regulation of Facebook and other websites that build profiles based personal data too. “I think that the best regulation is no regulation, self regulation”, – he said. “However, I think we it’s not here.”

Cook’s comments stood out because they came amid renewed criticism on Facebook after it was revealed that the consulting firm Cambridge Analytics collect personal data from 50 million users Facebook.

The business model Zuckerberg still under fire

Zuckerberg may be right that advertising-supported Facebook model allows anyone to access the tool. But the company’s mission now is to convince users that it meets with customer data. Cambridge Analytics mess increased noise on Facebook to be more transparent about what user data it collects and how that information is used. Facebook apologized for it, and the company took a full page OP-ed last weekend, that is called the fiasco a “violation of trust”.

“I regret that we did not at that time,” writes Zuckerberg. “I promise to do the best for you.”

Failure in Cambridge Fallout and Analytics company aimed at curbing misinformation and propaganda of the Russian accounts in the US elections in 2016, also stepped up calls for tighter regulation of Facebook and other social media companies.

At the October hearings, the representative of Facebook said that about 146 million people may be exposed to Russian disinformation efforts online via posts on Facebook and Instagram. (Special agent Robert Mueller filed charges against 13 Russians and three online Troll productions, connected with the Russian propaganda campaign pushed through the social media).

When it comes to regulation, Zuckerberg can also be starting to agree with cook. “I’m not sure that we should not be regulated”, – said the head of Facebook told CNN last week. “I think that in General technology is becoming an increasingly important trend in the world and I really think that the issue is more that proper regulation,’ rather than ‘Yes or no, should it be regulated?’”

Zuckerberg is also likely to do the grilling on Capitol hill about all of this. Probably, he testified before Congress in April, where he will face a barrage of questions about what Facebook is doing everything to crack down on fake news stories and protecting the privacy of its users.

You can listen to his full appearance on the show, Ezra Klein.