Apple’s adblocking simultaneously served users and injured Google.

Evidence

Apple’s maneuvers can be understood as a policing of its platform, which depends on payment. Hence, it could be seen taking the moral high ground on behalf of users, while also damaging its greatest rival, Google, at its point of greatest vulnerability. The adblocking campaign was, in the lingo, a twofer. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1128

Categorization

• SHARE: A crisp tactical insight for anyone following platform economics — Apple’s moral positioning was also cold competitive strategy.
• XREF: connects to: Apple’s privacy stance doubled as an attack on competitors’ ad revenue; Apple’s iOS 9 adblocking support drove mass adoption by millions of Americans — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1124; Google faced the same advertising trap it had exploited to beat Yahoo. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1130