The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has called Facebook’s recent criticism of Apple over an upcoming privacy improvement in iPhones and other devices “laughable.” The EFF argues that Facebook has “built a massive empire around the concept of tracking everything you do.”
MacRumors reports that the EFF has called Facebook’s recent criticism of tech giant Apple over the company’s planned tracking-related privacy measures “laughable.” Breitbart News recently reported that Facebook took out newspaper ads criticizing Apple’s privacy measures over two consecutive days.
Facebook has claimed that Apple’s upcoming iOS 14 privacy measures that will require users to grant permission for their mobile activity to be tracked by apps for personalized ads will not only harm small businesses but the internet as a whole.
Now, the EFF, a non-profit organization that defends civil liberties in the digital world, has stated that Facebook’s criticism is “laughable.” The EFF believes that Facebook’s campaign against Apple is about “what Facebook stands to lose if its users learn more about exactly what it and other data brokers are up to behind the scenes,” stating that Facebook has “built a massive empire around the concept of tracking everything you do.”
From early next year, developers of iPhone and iPad apps will need to request permission from users to track their activity across apps and websites for personalized advertising purposes. The EFF claims that a number of studies have shown that most of the money made from targeted advertising does not reach app developers but goes to third-party companies such as Facebook and Google.
“Facebook touts itself in this case as protecting small businesses, and that couldn’t be further from the truth,” the EFF said. “Facebook has locked them into a situation in which they are forced to be sneaky and adverse to their own customers. The answer cannot be to defend that broken system at the cost of their own users’ privacy and control.”
Apple commented on its decision stating: “We believe that this is a simple matter of standing up for our users. Users should know when their data is being collected and shared across other apps and websites — and they should have the choice to allow that or not.”
The EFF commended Apple for this stance stating: “When a company does the right thing for its users, EFF will stand with it, just as we will come down hard on companies that do the wrong thing. Here, Apple is right and Facebook is wrong.”
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com