Facebook continues assault on Apple with second day of full-page newspaper ads

Mark Zuckerberg in front of the Facebook logo
Mark Zuckerberg in front of the Facebook logo (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

  • Facebook has rolled out full-page newspaper ads attacking Apple's new iOS 14 privacy measures for the second day in a row.
  • The new campaign is called 'Apple vs. the free internet'.

Facebook has rolled out full-page newspaper ads blasting Apple's iOS 14 privacy measures for the second day in a row.

Yesterday Facebook launched a campaign in several high-profile newspapers including the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal stating it was "standing up for small businesses everywhere" and that Apple's new anti-tracking measures coming to iOS 14 next year would be "devastating."

As reported by The Verge, today's campaign is titled 'Apple vs. the free internet', and in it Facebook states:

Apple plans to roll out a forced software update that will change the internet as we know it—for the worse.Take your favorite cooking sites or sports blogs. Most are free because they show advertisements.Apple's change will limit their ability to run personalized ads. To make ends meet, many will have to start charging you subscription fees or adding more in-app purchases, making the internet much more expensive and reducing high-quality free content.

Facebook Apple Ad

Facebook Apple Ad (Image credit: Facebook / The Verge)

Facebook claims many small businesses have already said the change will be devastating for them, and that 44% of small businesses started or increased their usage of ads during the pandemic.

Facebook has previously blasted the measures, saying they are about 'profit, not privacy", claiming Apple will force smaller businesses to charge people for subscriptions and in-app purchases, increasing Apple's own revenue streams at the same time.

In a statement to iMore Apple responded to yesterday's ad campaign 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. App Tracking Transparency in iOS 14 does not require Facebook to change its approach to tracking users and creating targeted advertising, it simply requires they give users a choice."

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design. Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9

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