It’s unlikely that any sentient being in the known universe, let alone any Irreal reader, is unaware of the squabble raging between Apple and Facebook over Apple’s forthcoming iOS change that will require apps to ask a user’s permission before collecting tracking data. “Collecting tracking data” is adtech weasel wording for “stalking and spying on their users.”
NPR has an article on the dispute that is more sympathetic to Facebook’s position than any other I’ve seen but even with their generous reading of the situation, Facebook’s arguments don’t hold up. Facebook can’t attack the notion that users should have control over their own data, of course, so they fall back on two arguments.
The first is that Apple’s action will hurt small businesses and that Facebook is simply acting as their champion. That doesn’t pass the laugh test, of course, and most organizations not Facebook think that the change will have little effect on small business. Facebook, on the other hand, could take a 7% hit to their revenue.
The second argument is basically an ad hominem. Facebook says that the real reason Apple is making the change is to do away with free apps in favor of subscription-based apps because then Apple gets 30% of the take. Even if we assume, arguendo, that that’s true, so what? That doesn’t change the fact that Facebook wants to spy on us and Apple is saying, “Fine but you have to ask first.”
That last part is significant. Apple isn’t saying you can’t track, merely that you have to ask the user’s permission first. Facebook hates that because, of course, most people aren’t going to give that permission. So who, really, is standing up for the little guy?