Apple's Retort To Facebook After Full-Page Ads: New Policy 'Simply Requires They Give Users A Choice'

Apple Inc AAPL is not holding back in its dispute with Facebook Inc FB over recent changes to its policies around user privacy.

What Happened: "We believe that this is a simple matter of standing up for our users," the iPhone maker said in response to full-page advertisements put out by Facebook that claimed the iPhone maker's actions over privacy “limit businesses’ ability” to run personalized ads, the Verge reported Wednesday.

“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,” the Tim Cook-led company said.

On Wednesday, Facebook placed the full-page ads in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post with the headline “We’re standing up to Apple for small businesses everywhere,” Bloomberg reported.

“While limiting how personalized ads can be used does impact larger companies like us, these changes will be devastating to small businesses,” Facebook advertised.

Why It Matters: Apple’s statement comes at a time when Facebook is planning to unleash a new blitz of advertisements against the Cupertino, California-based company on Thursday, according to a tweet from John Paczkowski, tech and business editor at BuzzFeed News.

Oh, and just to preempt any back channel damage control narratives here, we were obviously not part of the embargo. https://t.co/tAvv2w3fTq

— John Paczkowski (@JohnPaczkowski) December 17, 2020

This week, Facebook said it hoped the European Union's new regulations would limit Apple which, according to Facebook, uses its control over its ecosystem to “harm developers and consumers, as well as large platforms like Facebook.”

See Also: Apple Refuses To Concede To Facebook, Other Advertisers Over Tracking Users Without Consent

In September, Facebook complained to the EU that Apple enforced decisions that favor its own services and revenue streams “to the detriment of others.”

Price Action: Apple shares closed mostly unchanged at $127.81 on Wednesday. On the same day, Facebook shares closed mostly unchanged at $275.67 and gained 0.4% in the after-hours session.