In a rare event, the big tech companies in China, which are otherwise regularly engaged in cut-throat competition, joined hands in an attempt to maneuver around the privacy policy at Apple. However, they lost their bid, as Apple emerged victorious in the not-so-silent battle.
What the Issue is?
ByteDance, Tencent, and Baidu had been working in association with two groups associated with Beijing, looking to create a new method for keeping tabs on iPhones for advertising purposes, called CAID. The new method, should it come into effect, will allow these firms to collect IDs from users even if they refuse to let the apps on their iPhones make use of their official Apple ID, or IDFA.
However, their efforts were thwarted as Apple emerged victorious.
Apple Takes a Stand
To be clear, CAID had been under development for the past year, as reported by Financial Times. Since the three companies had the direct support of Beijing, Apple was walking on eggshells as it was faced with the choice of upholding its privacy issues, and its flourishing business in China, which stands at approximately $50 billion.
Neither of the two choices were a winning situation for the US-based tech biggie, as rejecting CAID could have resulted in the Chinese powers unleashing their wrath on Apple’s units in the country, probably damaging its business.
On the other hand, downright accepting the terms of the new methodology would have made it clear that that it was upholding the restrictive and often questionable guidelines and rules under the Chinese regime. Consultant Eric Seufert had called the situation “an impossible one”. Rightly so.
Nevertheless, Apple Inc. did not back down in the least, and showed the world that it meant business when it put a stop to apps making use of CAID to track users, by blocking updates to them through its App Store.
Following this move, CAID ultimately met its untimely demise, as its popularity fell in markets in China and Hong Kong.
A Clear Victory
Experts are calling this a “clear victory” for the firm’s Chinese business, as Apple has succeeded in keeping the data of its users safe, something that it is known to pride itself in.
Alex Bauer, Product Marketing Head at adtech firm Branch, had a rather witty comment to make on the scenario, claiming that the Chinese tech players had been planning to come down hard on Apple with CAID, while conveniently forgetting the fact that the market leader is very much capable of banning “every major app”.
While blocking the updates, Apple has clearly declared that the terms under its App Store “apply equally to all developers across the world.”
