Social media giant Facebook is now reportedly attempting to preempt a new privacy update from Apple by asking users permission to track them ahead of the update’s rollout.
Business Insider reports that Facebook is attempting to preempt a new privacy update from Apple by requesting permission from users to track their activity. Facebook and Apple have been engaged in a six-month-long privacy battle after Apple announced a new iOS update that would inform users of the apps that track their activity and give them the option to prevent the apps from doing so.
On Monday, Facebook announced that it would be sending a pop-up notification to iOS users asking them for their permission to track their activity so that they can be targeted with ads. The pop-up tells users that allowing trackers will mean that they “get ads that are more personalized” and “support businesses that rely on ads to reach customers.”
Facebook is currently testing the pop-up on select users but is expected to roll out the message to all users ahead of Apple’s update in the early Spring. Apple’s update was announced in the summer and intended to roll out in September 2020 but was postponed following an outcry from Facebook who said the update would gut the developers’ advertising revenue.
Breitbart News recently reported that Facebook is planning to take Apple to court over allegations of antitrust relating to iOS 14 privacy features. Facebook has reportedly been working with outside legal counsel to prepare an antitrust lawsuit that claims the iPhone manufacturer “abused its power in the smartphone market by forcing app developers to abide by App Store rules that Apple’s own apps don’t have to follow.”
Last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook criticized polarization and misinformation on social media further intensifying conflict between Apple and Facebook. Delivering his remarks at the Computers, Privacy, and Data Protection conference, Cook criticized apps that he believes collect too much personal data and prioritize “conspiracy theories and violent incitement simply because of their high rates of engagement.”
Cook stated: “At a moment of rampant disinformation and conspiracy theories juiced by algorithms, we can no longer turn a blind eye to a theory of technology that says all engagement is good engagement — the longer the better — and all with the goal of collecting as much data as possible.”
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
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