In addition to App Tracking Transparency, Facebook is expected to focus on Apple’s refusal to allow third-party messaging apps to be installed as the default option on iPhones and iPads. The company lobbied Apple to allow users to choose Facebook’s Messenger app as the default on iOS instead of iMessage in September last year, and it now claims that Apple disallows other messaging apps to be set as default in an effort to prevent people from switching to competing smartphone brands.
One factor within this is said to be considerable internal dissent within Facebook itself. Executives are facing “internal resistance” from some employees over the prospect of deepening its public campaign against Apple with a lawsuit. Specifically, some employees are apparently concerned that Facebook is “not a compelling victim,” especially given the company’s own antitrust cases and mishandling of user data.
Facebook has also reportedly considered inviting other companies to participate in its prospective lawsuit against Apple. A natural ally would seemingly be Epic Games, which has been embroiled in a legal battle with Apple since Fortnite was removed from the App Store for breaking Apple’s rules.
iOS 14‘s App Tracking Transparency feature, which allows users to opt-out of being tracked via an on-screen prompt, is believed to be central to Facebook’s case. Facebook alleges that the prompts are unfair because they do not appear for Apple’s own apps, offering it a competitive advantage. However, Apple’s apps do not track users or share data for advertising purposes, so this seems to be a bemusing foundation for the lawsuit.
