Apple—Apple launched App Tracking Transparency requiring apps to get user consent before tracking, costing Facebook $10B+
On April 26, 2021, Apple launched App Tracking Transparency (ATT) in iOS 14.5, requiring all apps to explicitly ask users for permission before tracking them across other apps and websites. Up to 96% of US users opted out. Facebook estimated the change cost it ~$10 billion in 2022 revenue and launched a public campaign against Apple, claiming ATT would hurt small businesses. The feature fundamentally reshaped the digital advertising industry by giving users control over cross-app tracking.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| User Autonomy | +toward | secondary | +0.50 |
| User Privacy | +toward | primary | +1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | +0.885 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (critical ×2) × confidence (0.59)
Evidence (1 signal)
Facebook estimated Apple's App Tracking Transparency cost it $10 billion in 2022 revenue
Meta CFO Dave Wehner stated on an earnings call that Apple's ATT feature would decrease Meta's 2022 sales by approximately $10 billion. Up to 96% of US users opted out of tracking when given the choice. Facebook had previously launched newspaper ads claiming ATT would hurt small businesses.