EFF considers Facebook’s criticism of Apple’s pro-privacy pursuit change “high”

Facebook’s recent criticism of Apple over a future privacy measure is “ridiculous,” according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a nonprofit that defends civil liberties in the digital world.

Facebook has argued that Apple’s new opt-in tracking policy will affect small businesses that receive personalized advertising, but EFF believes Facebook’s campaign against Apple is really “what Facebook will lose if its users learn more about exactly what they and other data brokers are behind the scenes, noting that Facebook has “built a massive empire around the concept of tracking everything you do.”

Beginning next year, iPhone and iPad app developers will need to ask users for permission to track their activity in apps and websites owned by other companies for personalized advertising purposes. Specifically, users will be prompted to allow or deny tracking, as needed, when opening apps on iOS 14 and iPadOS 14.

According to the EFF, a number of studies have shown that most of the money from targeted advertising does not reach application developers and is instead directed to third-party data brokers such as Facebook, Google and lesser-known companies.

“Facebook is showing in this case that it is protecting small businesses and this could not be further from the truth,” the EFF said. “Facebook has blocked them in a situation where they are forced to be angry and hostile to their customers. The answer cannot be to defend that flawed system to the detriment of their users’ privacy and control.”

Facebook claimed that Apple’s move “is not about privacy, it’s about profit,” arguing that Apple’s new policy will leave many apps and websites with no choice but to start subscription fees or add more options. in-app purchase to complete. , in turn, increase revenue from the App Store. Facebook said the scenario would make the Internet “much more expensive” and reduce “high-quality free content.”

“We don’t agree with Apple’s approach and solution, but we have no choice but to show Apple’s prompt,” Facebook said. “If we don’t, they will block Facebook from the App Store, which would affect more people and companies that rely on our services. We cannot take this risk on behalf of the millions of companies that use our platform to grow. “

In response to Facebook, Apple expressed that users deserve control and transparency. “We think it’s a simple matter of being in favor of our users,” Apple said, adding that “users should know when their data is collected and shared between other apps and websites – and they should have whether or not to allow this. “

The EFF applauded Apple for changing its pro-confidentiality, calling it a big step forward.

“When a company does the right thing for its users, the EFF will agree with it, just as we will hardly go down with companies that do the wrong thing,” the organization concluded. “Here, Apple is right, and Facebook is wrong.”