FACEBOOK BLASTS APPLE PRIVACY POLICY IN NEWSPAPER ADS

Facebook is again pushing back on new Apple privacy rules for its mobile devices, this time saying in full page newspaper ads that the social media giant is standing up for small businesses, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

In ads that ran in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and other national newspapers, Facebook said Apple’s new rules “limit businesses’ ability to run personalized ads and reach their customers effectively.”

The ad stressed: “While limiting how personalized ads can be used does impact larger companies like us, these changes will be devastating to small businesses adding to the many challenges they face right now.”

Apple brushed aside Facebook’s attacks, saying that that it isn’t preventing people from being tracked if they so desire. The main change is that people will have to grant their permission before Facebook and other apps will be able to monitor their online activities.

“We believe that this is a simple matter of standing up for our users,” Apple said. “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 ads come after Apple said earlier this week it would begin spelling out what kinds of personal information is being collected by the digital services displayed in its app stores for iPhones and other products made by the trendsetting company.

Apple also has plans to impose a new mandate that will require all iPhone apps to obtain permission before tracking a person’s activities on the device. That surveillance is currently done automatically by many apps, and would force people to go to the time and trouble to block the tracking in the settings of each app.

Apple says it will oust apps from its stores if they try to bypass the new anti-tracking rule when it becomes effective next year.

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