Apple has pulled the plug on Facebook’s distribution of an app that paid users to track detailed phone and web usage. It’s another sore spot for the social media giant, which has faced growing scrutiny in past months over user privacy and protection.
Jennifer Stromer-Galley, a professor at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies and director for the Center for Computational and Data Sciences, says the larger story is about the future revenue models of the tech giants and the value associated with increased advertising accuracy.
Stromer-Galley says:
“This is a fascinating set of events. Facebook and Google are turning to these research practices because I believe they want to increase the accuracy of their classification of users to increase the value of their advertising.
“Given that both companies have established their companies’ business models on the backs of advertising revenue, efforts to improve accuracy of the categories of users will make them even more valuable to advertisers who want specific market segments and increased profit from their advertising investment.
“Apple, by contrast, has established itself very actively as not having an ad-revenue business model. Tim Cook has repeatedly said that user privacy is of utmost important to the brand and they aren’t selling their customers as eyeballs to advertisers. So, Apple’s move to ban the Facebook app further reinforces their message and brand image that such data-tracking practices by third-party vendors (in this case Facebook and Google) are forbidden.
“At a 10,000-foot level, this story is about the future revenue models of the tech giants.”
To request interviews or get more information:
Daryl Lovell
Media Relations Manager
Division of Marketing and Communications
T 315.443.1184 M 315.380.0206
dalovell@syr.edu | @DarylLovell
820 Comstock Avenue, Suite 308, Syracuse, NY 13244
news.syr.edu | syracuse.edu
Syracuse University
This week, Haitian president Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in his home, and his wife was injured in the attack. Haitian authorities have begun to arrest and detain suspects. Some have been killed. The assassination has thrown the country into further…
June 27 is annually recognized as PTSD Awareness Day, a yearly event to help raise awareness about post-traumatic stress disorder. It also serves as a reminder that treatments, resources and help are available for those experiencing it and for caregivers….
On Tuesday, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the US, said “The Delta variant is currently the greatest threat in the U.S. to our attempt to eliminate Covid-19.” The good news, he said, is that the…
A new report from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a research center at Syracuse University, shows that the number of immigrants whose cases transferred out of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) dropped sharply in May. 4,476 MPP cases had been…
New research from Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communications reveals a relationship between political biases and attitudes about sexual assault. Authored by assistant professor Rebecca Ortiz and PhD student Andrea Smith, the article “A social identity threat perspective on why partisans…
If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.
