Facebook’s recent criticism of Apple over an upcoming tracking-related privacy measure is “laughable,” said the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a nonprofit advocating for civil liberties in the digital world.
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Facebook has claimed that Apple’s new opt-in tracking policy will harm small businesses that benefit from personalized ads, but the EFF believes Facebook’s campaign against Apple is really about ‘what Facebook has to lose if its users learn more about what it and other data brokers sit behind the scenes “and note that Facebook” has built a huge empire around the concept of tracking everything you do. ”
Beginning next year, developers of iPhone and iPad apps will have to request permission from users to track their activity in apps and websites owned by other companies for personalized advertising purposes. Specifically, users will be presented with a prompt to allow or deny tracking if needed when opening apps on iOS 14 and iPadOS 14.
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According to the EFF, a number of studies have shown that most of the money made from targeted ads does not reach app developers, but instead goes to third-party data brokers such as Facebook, Google and lesser-known companies.
“Facebook is touting itself in this case as protecting small businesses, and that couldn’t be further from the truth,” said the EFF. “Facebook has locked them in a situation where they are forced to be sneaky and hostile to their own customers. The answer cannot be to defend that broken system at the expense of the privacy and control of their own users.”
Facebook has argued that Apple’s move is “not about privacy, it’s about profit,” claiming that Apple’s new policy will leave many apps and websites with no choice but to charge a subscription fee or allow more in-app purchase options. add to make ends meet. , increasing App Store revenue. Facebook said this scenario will make the Internet “much more expensive” and reduce “free, high-quality content.”
“We don’t agree with Apple’s approach and solution, but we have no choice but to show Apple’s prompt,” said Facebook. “If we don’t, they will block Facebook from the App Store, which would only further harm the people and businesses that depend on our services. We cannot take this risk on behalf of the millions of businesses that use our platform to grow. “
In response to Facebook, Apple indicated that users deserve control and transparency. “We believe this is a simple matter of standing up for our users,” Apple said, adding that “users should know when their data is being collected and shared with other apps and websites – and that they should have the choice to do so. or not.”
The EFF applauded Apple for its pro-privacy change, calling it a big step forward.
“If a company does the right thing for its users, EFF will back it up, just as we will come down hard on companies doing the wrong thing,” the organization concluded. “Here Apple is right and Facebook is wrong.”