Mark Zuckerberg Has a Problem With Apple, Too

Elon Musk may have eased his censure of Apple, but his initial attacks have ushered in a heap of criticism from elsewhere. Fellow billionaire Mark Zuckerberg echoed Musk's complaints that Apple has too great a hold on the app market on Wednesday. "Apple has sort of singled themselves out as the only company that is trying to control, like unilaterally, what apps get on a device," the Meta CEO said, per the Wall Street Journal. "I don't think that's a sustainable or good place to be." His comments came only days after Musk claimed Apple had threatened to ban Twitter from its app store amid an increase in hate speech, though Musk later said there had been a misunderstanding.

Zuckerberg described a "conflict of interest" when companies "deliver their apps exclusively through platforms that are controlled by competitors," per CNBC. He noted that unlike Apple, Google lets users download apps that are not in its official Google Play store. "They've always made it so you can sideload and have other app stores and work directly with phone manufacturers." Zuckerberg also complained that privacy changes to Apple's App Store were partly to blame for Meta's recent struggles, which prompted the company to lay off 13% of its workforce, per the Journal. CNBC notes Meta was "badly wounded" by changes that make it tougher for Facebook and Instagram to target users with ads.

Zuckerberg said Apple is "not just a governor looking out for people's interests," noting "the vast majority of profits in the mobile ecosystem go to Apple." That's a likely reference to the 30% tax Apple charges on in-app purchases, another complaint of Musk's. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek also drew attention to the tax in a series of Wednesday tweets, arguing Apple is a "threat to the future of the internet." It "gives itself every advantage while at the same time stifling innovation and hurting consumers," he wrote, per Reuters. Tim Sweeney, CEO of Fortnite, added challenging Apple's "monopoly" is "an American issue transcending party politics." (More Apple stories.)