Mark Zuckerberg Orders Facebook Execs To Switch To Android, After Tim Cook's Criticism Of FB

People tend to get really passionate about the Android vs iOS debate, but you don't expect it to go beyond a simple argument at the most.

Not so for Facebook executives, who've reportedly found themselves faced with an ultimatum to ditch their iPhones.

Images courtesy: Reuters

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly gave the order for management to only use Android phone, supposedly because the operating system is more widely used across the world. According to the New York Times however, that order came shortly after Apple CEO Tim Cook criticized Facebook and its underhanded privacy practices.

In an MSNBC interview back in March, Cook was asked what he would do if in Zuckerberg's shoes, as far as the Cambridge Analytica scandal was concerned. He brushed off the question simply saying, "I wouldn't be in this situation," and made clear his disdain for services like it that "traffic in personal lives."

Zuckerberg soon after had a chance to respond, in an interview with Recode. He said he found Cook's comments "extremely glib," saying, "I think it's important that we don't all get Stockholm syndrome and let the companies that work hard to charge you more convince you that they actually care more about you. Because that sounds ridiculous to me."

Oof. Shots fired and how.

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Either way, even if those comments didn't directly influence Zuckerberg's pro-Android instructions, they surely played at least a small part. It's still unclear if the Facebook executives acquiesced, or if the order is even being enforced.

Then again, it would make sense given that Android is the majority-use OS in many regions outside the US, including India. Familiarity with it can help them make the Android apps better.