Facebook Employees Call It Hypocrisy
Facebook employees feel that the criticism of Apple's privacy rules smacked of 'hypocrisy.' (Photo: Solen Feyissa/Unsplash(BY CC 2.0))

Facebook employees feel that the criticism by their company of Apple's privacy rules smacked of 'hypocrisy.'

Apple will set in motion new privacy rules early next year, which will cause a huge impact on companies that serve ads. Among those that will be hardest hit is social media giant Facebook. In apparent retaliation for the move, Facebook launched a media blitz that criticized the move of Apple in pressuring the social media network to provide a choice for users to turn off person monitoring on its iOS app. However, it appears that not everyone is happy with the move of Facebook as even its own employees question the move of their company, calling it a 'hypocrisy.'

For several weeks now, Facebook has been attacking Apple with full-web page ads in US newspapers. Business entities and individuals who boost their Facebook posts also see pop-up windows that tell about the move of Apple and how the act negatively affects them. The social media giant did not elaborate on its end-game scenario, particularly since Apple seems bent on activating its new privacy rules next year. Even Facebook employees are at a loss on the objective of the ad campaign, with some of them saying that the PR blitz borders on 'hypocrisy.'

In one full-web page ad of Facebook which attacks Apple's new privacy rules, the social media giant accused the iPhone maker of hurting small businesses as iOS 14's brand new privacy options allow customers to decide whether or not they wanted the apps to track them. Industry observers say Facebook is not at all pleased with the decision of Apple since its grassroots income comes from advertisements that are mostly based on the knowledge of customers. Despite explaining to its staffers why they are taking this path, some Facebook employees are not in favor of the move with some of them calling their company's action 'hypocrisy.'

According to news reports, the social media giant, since launching the media attack, has been holding conferences with employees to discuss Apple's new privacy rules and the effect it will have on their jobs. Though Facebook officials try their best to convince their employees that they are making a stand for their users, sources revealed that not all of them agree with the attacks on Apple. One Facebook employee who declined to provide a name remarked that their superiors are simply "using small businesses as a shield" to justify the company's unhealthy practices. Another Facebook employee said that the company's PR attack on Apple borders on 'hypocrisy.' "It feels like we are trying to justify doing a bad thing by hiding behind people with a sympathetic message," a Facebook software engineer wrote.