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The US government wants Facebook broken up. Should Apple be worried?

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Tim Cook makes the case for Apple during Congress' antitrust hearing.
Should Tim Cook be sweating?
Photo: C-SPAN

With Facebook facing a federal antitrust lawsuit, and a new administration headed for the White House, should Apple be worried about a  crackdown on big tech?

While the specifics might be far different for the two companies, D.C.’s apparent thirst for regulation should get Tim Cook sweating.

Feeling lucky? Google was the top iOS developer in October

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Apple Google
Google and Apple are both friends and rivals.
Photo: Apple/Google

Like most tech giants, Apple and Google have a strange “coopetition” relationship, whereby they simultaneously compete and work together.

The latest example? Google, the company that spawned the rival Android mobile operating system, was the top developer in Apple’s iOS App Store last month.

Facebook CEO worries iOS 14 anti-tracking feature could hurt small businesses

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Facebook owns 4 of the top 10 apps of the past decade
Facebook owns 4 of the top 10 apps of the past decade
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Mark Zuckerberg isn’t happy about an iOS 14 feature that will make it harder for developers and advertisers to track iPhone users — on the basis that the anti-tracking tech could hurt small businesses already struggling in the age of coronavirus.

In Thursday’s earnings call, the Facebook co-founder and CEO said that actions planned by Apple “could have a meaningful negative effect on small businesses and economic recovery in 2021 and beyond.”

House antitrust report calls to ‘break up’ tech giants

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Should Apple take over the White House?
Could the U.S. government break up Big Tech?
Photo: MattCC716/Flickr CC

The U.S. House of Representatives antitrust report on Big Tech reportedly includes a “thinly veiled call to break up” the tech giants, according to a report by Reuters.

The House antitrust subcommittee could publish its report on Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Alphabet this week. However, while it’s not been published yet, it’s already causing controversy.

Zuckerberg has big ‘questions’ about Apple’s tight control of App Store

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Facebook owns 4 of the top 10 apps of the past decade
Facebook CEO has issues with App Store.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg thinks Apple’s control of the App Store should be scrutinized. In an interview for Axios on HBO, the Facebook overlord said that Apple has “unilateral control of what gets on phones, in terms of apps.”

Zuck went on to say that this power meant that there are questions that should be asked about whether this is “enabling as robust of a competitive dynamic.”

Facebook Messenger follows WhatsApp’s lead on forwarding limits

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Facebook Messenger gets message forwarding limits
Suck it, spammers!
Photo: Facebook

Facebook is rolling out new message-forwarding limits in an effort to cut down on the spread of misinformation.

A similar version of the feature, which ensures messages can be forwarded to only five people or groups at a time, is already available inside WhatsApp — another Facebook service.

Facebook says Apple stopped it telling users about 30% in-app purchase ‘tax’

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Facebook owns 4 of the top 10 apps of the past decade
Facebook is also taking shots at Apple's App Store commissions.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Facebook claims Apple stopped it from telling users about the 30% commission that Cupertino takes from sales in a new online events feature.

According to a Reuters report published Friday, Apple said its rules stop developers from showing “irrelevant” information to users.

Grow your audience by mastering the many facets of digital marketing

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Marketing Lifestyle
This massive bundle of lessons will teach you how to connect your brand or products with the widest possible audience.
Photo: Cult of Mac Deals

Marketing moved online long ago, and every week that goes by, it becomes more fundamental to the ways we buy and sell. Facebook, YouTube, Google and Amazon have become the core of our modern economy. So if you’ve got a product, brand or anything else you want to connect with customers or audiences, you’ve got to learn the ins and outs of digital marketing.

Facebook worries about what iOS 14’s user-tracking alerts will mean for digital ads

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Facebook owns 4 of the top 10 apps of the past decade
iOS 14 could be bad news for companies that rely on digital ads.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Facebook is concerned that one of the big new features in iOS 14 will hurt the social networking giant’s ad-targeting business model.

As reported by CNBC, Facebook CFO David Wehner said Thursday that Apple’s new feature for the upcoming operating system, which allows users to see how activity is being tracked across apps and websites, will make things tough on Facebook ads.

Apple could face tough questions in this week’s antitrust hearing

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Tim Cook will testify before a congressional antitrust subcommittee this week.
Tim Cook will testify before a congressional antitrust subcommittee this week.
Photo: Mark Mathosian/Flickr CC

When the CEOs of Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google take questions Wednesday from the U.S. House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee, they likely will face intense scrutiny of their companies’ business practices. But just how tough will the questioning get?

Scott Galloway, a NYU Stern School of Business marketing professor who wrote the best-selling book The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google, thinks he knows what Congress will ask the executives. In a new article, Galloway laid out the questions Apple CEO Tim Cook and the others should expect.

Tim Cook agrees to testify before Congress in antitrust probe

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Tim Cook goes to Washington
Apple chief Tim Cook will testify before Congress, and he’ll be joined by the CEOs of Amazon, Facebook and Google.
Screenshot: Apple

The CEOs of four of biggest tech firms will testify in the House of Representatives’s probe into antitrust activities. That includes Apple’s Tim Cook, along with the heads of Amazon, Facebook and Google.

This is part of an ongoing investigation by the House Judiciary Committee into whether the largest tech companies play fair with smaller competitors.

Trump executive order targets social media’s ‘selective censorship’

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President Trump signs the executive order.
Pres. Trump signs an executive order that seeks to overturn protections for Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Photo: White House

Days after Twitter labeled a Tweet by President Trump as false, Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that seeks to overturn liability protections for social media services.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the president’s most powerful political opponent, called the move “a desperate distraction” on the day U.S. deaths from the COVID-19 epidemic reached 100,000.

Facebook snaps up GIF-sharing giant Giphy for $400 million

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Facebook owns 4 of the top 10 apps of the past decade
Facebook has a new acquisition under its belt.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Most of the world might be tightening its belt as the economy stumbles thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, but don’t count Facebook among them! According to a report first published Friday by Axios, the social media giant is buying GIF-making and sharing website Giphy for an enormous $400 million.

Facebook Messenger Rooms can handle calls with up to 50 people in US

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facebook.messenger.rooms
Facebook Messenger Rooms allows users to host video calls of up to 50 people free of charge.
Photo: Facebook

Facebook took on Zoom and FaceTime Thursday by enabling its new video-calling service, Messenger Rooms, to make free calls between as many as 50 people.

The feature was announced last month, and is available now is the US and Canada. It’ll be rolled out globally next week, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Facebook takes on Zoom, Group FaceTime with free video calls for up to 50 people

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facebook.messenger.rooms
Facebook on Friday announced new video calling features including Messenger Rooms, which allows users to host video calls of up to 50 people.
Photo: Facebook

Facebook announced Friday it will add the ability for free video calling for up to 50 people on its new video-calling service, Messenger Rooms. The change is taking direct aim at the Group FaceTime and the popular Zoom service that has taken the world by storm as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. 

The expanded service will launch by days end in selected regions with a smaller number of users at launch, but will not be available for the maximum number for a few more weeks, the company said. 

Facebook Messenger Kids expands its reach, adds new features

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Facebook-Messenger-Kids
Download it from the App Store today.
Photo: Facebook

Facebook Messenger Kids, the free chat app designed specifically for your little ones, on Wednesday expanded its reach to more than 70 new markets and added a number of helpful new features.

It’s now possible for parents to give kids control over their contacts (if they wish), and for kids to join approved groups. The changes come at a time when many children are out of school and unable to see friends.

Facebook beta reveals hidden dark mode for iPhone and iPad

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Facebook-dark-mode
You can't activate it yourself just yet.
Photo: WABetaInfo

A new beta version of the Facebook app for iOS contains hidden resources that suggest a dark mode is on its way to iPhone and iPad.

The feature is expected to work in tandem with the system-wide dark mode settings on iOS for automatic activation and deactivation, but users should be able to toggle it manually, too.

Facebook creates experimental messaging app only for Apple Watch

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kip
Kit's interface is very simple.
Photo: Facebook

Facebook launched an experimental new app today that aims to make it easier to message friends and family from your wrist while stuck inside during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new app, called Kit, short for “Keep in touch”, only works on Apple Watch. Kit can be used to send voice messages, your location, emoji and more all with just a few quick taps.

IGTV app gains new Discovery tab and hands-free video recording

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instagram
Watch long-form, video from your favorite Instagram creators.
Photo: Instagram

Instagram pushed out a big update to its IGTV app Monday focused on helping users discover more content from popular creators directly in the app.

IGTV, Instagram’s house for all long-form video, hasn’t been nearly as popular as the regular IG app, but Monday’s update hopes to change that by putting a bigger focus on creators and discovery.

Instagram takes DMs to the desktop

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Instagram fact checking
Direct messaging via desktop has arrived.
Photo: Instagram

Instagram has been a little more desktop-friendly lately. On Friday, the photo-sharing app gave users the ability to read and send direct messages from a desktop computer.

Facebook, which owns the app, had signaled last year that it wanted to make private messaging easier across all of its apps regardless of device.

Facebook launches Quiet Mode to mute its push notifications

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facebook.quiet.mode
'Quiet Mode' lets users temporarily mute push notifications and essentially put the app on hold.
Photo: Facebook

Facebook announced Thursday a new feature designed to help reduce distractions from the social network by letting users temporarily mute push notifications.

Called “Quiet Mode,” the new setting can be activated within a scheduled time period or set intervals.