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Facebook claims new App Store policies are anti-competitive

"Apple is behaving anti-competitively by using their control of the App Store to benefit their bottom line at the expense of creators and small businesses"

Facebook claims new App Store policies are anti-competitive

Facebook has accused Apple of anti-competitive behaviour due to its upcoming policy changes.

As reported by Reuters, the social media giant is against the planned changes that are to come into effect as part of iOS14. Facebook has been opposed to alterations to ad tracking since Apple first revealed them.

"Apple is behaving anti-competitively by using their control of the App Store to benefit their bottom line at the expense of creators and small businesses. Full stop," said Facebook vice president of ads and business products Dan Levy.

However, Apple has argued that Facebook is not required to alter how it tracks consumers. Rather, the company will need to grant iOS users the right to choose whether to opt-in or not.

"We believe that this is a simple matter of standing up for our users. Users should know when their data is being collected and shared across other apps and websites — and they should have the choice to allow that or not," said Apple.

To be fair

Facebook will abide by the new rules, though it does so reluctantly to avoid the removal of its applications from the App Store.

Of course, the social media behemoth is not the only company to have an issue with Apple and its policies. Back in September, a number of companies – including Spotify, Epic Games, Deezer and News Media Europe – formed the Coalition for App Fairness.

The non-profit organisation is after equality for all app developers. Moreover, it wants to see various reforms, including regulatory and legal changes, when it comes to Apple's App Store policies.

Moreover, the iOS creator is currently embroiled in a huge legal battle with Epic Games over the removal of Fortnite from its storefront. The companies are due to appear in court in May 2021.


Staff Writer

Kayleigh is the Staff Writer for PocketGamer.biz. Besides PGbiz and PCGI she has written as a list writer for Game Rant, rambling about any and all things games related. You can also find her on Twitter talking utter nonsense.