Zuckerberg was ready to call out Tim Cook over Apple’s privacy practices (FB, AAPL)

---

Under fire for his company’s privacy practices on Capitol Hill, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was prepared to lob a bomb of his own at Tim Cook — his counterpart at Apple.

Cook has been pointedly critical of Facebook’s data collection in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, even calling for regulation that would limit such practices. Should he have been asked about Cook’s comments at the Senate hearing he testified at Tuesday, Zuckerberg was prepared to fire back at Apple’s leader, his notes indicate.

There are “lots of stories about apps misusing Apple data,” Zuckerberg’s notes say, adding that Zuckerberg has “never seen Apple notify people” about any misuse of its customers’ data.

Indeed, Zuckerberg was prepared to assert that Apple’s data practices are “similar” to Facebook’s, according to the notes, which a sharp-eyed Associated Press photographer managed to capture during a short period when they were visible during the hearing.

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

“When you install an app on your iPhone, you give it access to some information, just like when you login with [Facebook],” Zuckerberg’s notes say.

“We’ve solved problems before”

It’s easy to see why Zuckerberg would draw a comparison to Apple — after all, Apple’s Cook has tried to portray his company, which makes money from selling hardware products instead of ads, as morally superior to Facebook.