• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'

2

Trump pulls back after Iran crosses his red line as U.S. military breaks two-week streak of airstrikes amid talks for potential Hormuz deal

3

College-educated women are snapping up the highest-earning men without college degrees, leaving the rest further behind

1

The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'

2

Trump pulls back after Iran crosses his red line as U.S. military breaks two-week streak of airstrikes amid talks for potential Hormuz deal

3

College-educated women are snapping up the highest-earning men without college degrees, leaving the rest further behind
Tech

Apple May Be Facebook’s Toughest Regulator

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 30, 2019, 4:14 PM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Facebook’s toughest regulator may not be the Federal Trade Commission or another government agency, but rather its tech giant rival Apple.

Facebook suffered another public relations black eye on Tuesday when tech publication TechCrunch reported about its latest in a series of data privacy blunders.

In short, Facebook allegedly abused the Apple Developer Enterprise Program that lets partner companies make corporate apps and work-related tools available to their employees outside of the consumer-facing Apple App Store.

While the program was intended to let Facebook employees test apps and new features prior to major releases, among other reasons, Facebook, in fact, used it as a way to get the public download a data-tracking “research” app outside of the Apple App store. The strategy let Facebook bypass Apple’s app approval process, which almost certainly would have otherwise blocked Facebook’s data-collecting app for violating Apple’s privacy policies.

Apple responded on Wednesday by rescinding Facebook’s development credentials, which hurts the social networking giant’s ability to test software products, among other things. Apple said that “Facebook has been using their membership to distribute a data-collecting app to consumers, which is a clear breach of their agreement with Apple.”

As several journalists and analysts have commented, this is a major blow for Facebook, which relies on the program for its internal product development and for quickly providing app updates to its users.

Hard to overstate how crazy it is that Facebook can't push internal app updates to employees right now. It would be a huge risk to the company's product development if this extends for any serious amount of time. https://t.co/XEpXruwnK3

— Kurt Wagner (@KurtWagner8) January 30, 2019

Facebook confirms that ALL its employee-only internal iOS apps (the apps testing every product in the works, as well as internal employee resource apps, for transportation etc) are offline. They say they're trying to negotiate with Apple right now.

— Sarah Frier (@sarahfrier) January 30, 2019

Apple’s punishment may sting more than any FTC fines, considering that Facebook had over $40 billion in sales during its last fiscal year.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

If Facebook is unable to test its apps and release new features, it won’t be able to quickly copy the features for iOS devices by competitors like Snapchat. Reports also indicate that Facebook employees are unable to access internal food and transportation apps for its campus, which could cause a major roadblock for Facebook’s employees who use iPhones.

In essence, Apple is putting the brakes on Facebook’s ability to “move fast and break things,” to quote the one-time Facebook motto popularized by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. He has since changed the motto to “Move fast with stable infrastructure.”

Facebook has so far escaped any major U.S. government penalty for misbehavior as well as any significant consequences from its series of blunders ranging from data breaches, questionable public relations efforts, and the infamous Cambridge Analytica scandal that involved an academic researcher who obtained user data in order to sell the information to a political consulting firm, violating company policies.

The FTC is reportedly investigating whether some of Facebook’s recent data privacy issues may have violated the terms or a previously enforced consent decree, with fines possibly totaling over a billion dollars.

Facebook latest stumble, however, could end up being a lot more painful.

Cybersecurity researchers typically recommend that people only download apps to their smartphones from sanctioned app stores like Apple’s, because downloading software from third-party services is more risky. There’s a reason companies are willing to pay Apple a 30% fee to sell software through Apple’s App Store, and that’s because Apple offers consumers at least some sense of security that the apps they download through it are safe.

In this case, Facebook encouraged some users to download iOS software outside the Apple App store, which could lead to people feeling more comfortable about downloads outside Apple’s universe.

As Jen Miller-Osborn, a deputy director of threat Intelligence at security firm Palo Alto Networks described Facebook’s behavior to Fortune, “That’s horrible.”

“There’s no way to do that without knowing you are at least violating the spirit of some agreement,” Miller-Osborn said. ” To do it officially and against the parent company is at least—wow.”

It’s unclear if Apple’s decision to revoke Facebook’s developer credentials is only temporary. But if it does cause Facebook pain, maybe it will be less cavalier about data collection.

Perhaps this is what is meant when businesses say companies, not governments, should regulate themselves.

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in Tech

China’s Moonshot, Z.AI, and DeepSeek are challenging U.S. AI labs—and beating them on cost
MagazineChina
China’s Moonshot, Z.AI, and DeepSeek are challenging U.S. AI labs—and beating them on cost
By Nicholas GordonJuly 26, 2026
55 minutes ago
Big Tech earnings slam into a market in revolt over AI spending
Big Techearnings
Big Tech earnings slam into a market in revolt over AI spending
By Jeran Wittenstein, Ryan Vlastelica and BloombergJuly 26, 2026
3 hours ago
James Cameron tried to warn us: ‘Skynet Day’ is now shorthand for OpenAI’s agent going rogue and hacking into a startup
AIOpenAI
James Cameron tried to warn us: ‘Skynet Day’ is now shorthand for OpenAI’s agent going rogue and hacking into a startup
By Laurie Kellman, Lindsey Bahr and The Associated PressJuly 26, 2026
4 hours ago
Jeff Bezos says being lazy, not working hard, is the root of anxiety: ‘The stress goes away the second I take that first step’
SuccessJeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos says being lazy, not working hard, is the root of anxiety: ‘The stress goes away the second I take that first step’
By Sydney LakeJuly 26, 2026
9 hours ago
A Gen Xer sold his company for $1.6 billion. He kept less than $100 million and gave the rest away because he doesn’t ‘believe in billionaires’
SuccessHow I made my first million
A Gen Xer sold his company for $1.6 billion. He kept less than $100 million and gave the rest away because he doesn’t ‘believe in billionaires’
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJuly 26, 2026
9 hours ago
The Trump administration has accrued roughly $26.7 billion across 30 equity or quasi-equity deals
EconomyDonald Trump
The U.S. government invested $27 billion in corporate stakes. Good luck finding them
By Eva RoytburgJuly 26, 2026
10 hours ago

Most Popular

The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'
Real Estate
The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 25, 2026
1 day ago
Trump pulls back after Iran crosses his red line as U.S. military breaks two-week streak of airstrikes amid talks for potential Hormuz deal
Middle East
Trump pulls back after Iran crosses his red line as U.S. military breaks two-week streak of airstrikes amid talks for potential Hormuz deal
By Jason MaJuly 25, 2026
1 day ago
College-educated women are snapping up the highest-earning men without college degrees, leaving the rest further behind
Economy
College-educated women are snapping up the highest-earning men without college degrees, leaving the rest further behind
By Mia OsmonbekovJuly 26, 2026
12 hours ago
An 11-year-old is cleaning his neighbors' trash cans for $10 each—he now has 100K followers as teens face the worst summer job market since 1948
Success
An 11-year-old is cleaning his neighbors' trash cans for $10 each—he now has 100K followers as teens face the worst summer job market since 1948
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJuly 25, 2026
2 days ago
'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down
Economy
'The demographic dividend of the last 40 years is ending': J.P. Morgan says the world is running out of the two things that kept interest rates down
By Eleanor PringleJuly 24, 2026
3 days ago
Startups are installing tiny data centers in people’s homes to reduce strain on the beleaguered electrical grid
Environment
Startups are installing tiny data centers in people’s homes to reduce strain on the beleaguered electrical grid
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 25, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.