Based on the information provided, here is a summary of the key points regarding the alliance between Meta and Apple in the context of a lawsuit:
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Background: Meta is currently involved in a lawsuit where it is accused of maintaining a monopoly in the social media advertising market. The company is trying to keep certain documents related to the lawsuit confidential and out of the public eye.
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Apple’s Involvement: In an unexpected move, Apple has aligned with Meta in this matter. Apple’s lawyers have urged the federal judge overseeing the case to support Meta’s request to keep two specific documents secret. These documents include a confidential contract between Apple and Meta and a side letter related to that contract.
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Reason for Secrecy: Apple argues that disclosing the details of the service integration agreement between the two companies could potentially harm Apple competitively. The company fears that revealing confidential contract terms might give competitors an unfair advantage during negotiations or competition. Meta echoes this sentiment.
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Nature of the Documents: The confidential contract and side letter may contain specific numbers or commercial terms related to the buying and selling of data between the two companies. There are also indirect references to disputes over API contracts between Meta and Apple. APIs are crucial for applications to retrieve data from platforms and are often sold as tools to marketers or researchers needing access to user information.
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Plaintiffs’ Claims: The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are a group of Meta’s advertising customers who claim that Meta’s monopoly in the social media advertising market has led to them being charged excessive fees. They argue that the transaction documents between Meta and Apple should not remain confidential and that other related evidence should be made public.
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Confidentiality: Currently, the case involves confidential company emails, internal chat records, and testimonials from executives, including Meta’s co-founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. These are all under wraps and not accessible to the public.
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Previous Transparency: Meta and Apple have never publicly disclosed their specific business dealings before. However, a recent hearing record submitted by the company reveals that the judge overseeing the case has ruled that the information about Apple can only go as far as transactions related to Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature, which Meta has claimed significantly impacted its advertising business.
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Company Statements: A Meta spokesperson has refused to comment on the matter but maintains that the contract with Apple contains no anti-competitive content. Apple has not responded to requests for comment.
This summary captures the essence of the situation as described in the provided text, focusing on the unusual alliance between Meta and Apple in their efforts to keep certain documents confidential during the lawsuit.
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