Some Facebook employees do not support attacks on Apple

Facebook has attacked Apple over its new privacy policies that make it harder for advertisers to track users across apps and websites. The social media giant has released full-page ads and in-app banners decrying new iOS privacy features. However, it seems that not all Facebook employees feel the same.

Facebook believes the new privacy features will hurt small and midsize businesses, and according to a BuzzFeed News report, not all Facebook employees think so.

“It feels like we’re trying to justify a bad thing by hiding behind people with a nice message,” wrote an engineer in response to an internal post shared by Facebook advertising director Dany Levy.

Facebook held an internal discussion to explain their position on the campaign and before that, employees asked or voted on questions about the potential consequences of the attacks.

“Are we not worried that our position of protecting [small and medium enterprises] is turning against us when people see it more as ‘FB protecting their own business’?” read a question.

Another question pointed out that Facebook’s current efforts could be “bad public relations” as people actually want privacy and the company’s agenda against that “will be viewed with cynicism.” Another Facebook employee asked how the company could choose a post that seemed “less interested”.

Facebook’s vice president of product marketing told employees in his response that the company had been “very clear” about the effects of Apple’s privacy features, including the effects on Facebook’s bottom line.

“We’re not trying to sweep that under the rug. We’re, you know, a big, profitable company and we’re going to get out of it and adapt our products and so forth. But the real people are the small businesses that are affected. , and that’s why we made it the center of the message, Mudd wrote.

Responding to employees asking why Facebook didn’t choose to be more transparent and convince users to opt for tracking, Mudd explained that it was “Apple’s marketing working and convincing you to scapegoat us so they can decide how the internet should work – even beyond their devices.

“I am an optimist who works in technology because I believe that technology can be a lever to democratize access and provide opportunities. Including for businesses. And if you think it will stop with personalized advertising … well, then I don’t agree, “Mudd said.

The main feature that Facebook is concerned about is a change that “Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) tag is enabled on an app-by-app basis.” Facebook says this feature could have a 60% impact on ad revenue .

Facebook’s attacks on Apple have also been criticized by other tech companies and industry groups, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The anti-tracking feature was originally slated to launch with iOS 14, but Apple has delayed the rollout to give developers more time to prepare. It is now slated for release in early 2021.