Privacy and data, finally FB comes out

The circle has finally come full circle. Because if there is one thing we just don't need, it is to add confusion to confusion. And even when the reality of the facts is not to our liking, when we would gladly put a dislike on it, we must be objective enough to split the judgment on how to present something and its content. Being transparent about the position taken on an important issue such as that related to privacy is right even before a duty, especially if your name is Facebook and you manage a community that brings together a good portion of the world population.

Facebook against Apple: a question of privacy and transparency

The reference is to the war that the social network declared to Apple this week and in more detail to the initiative put in place by the bitten apple to offer users greater control on the data concerning them. In a nutshell, Zuckerberg and his team lashed out against the Cupertino company because the introduction of a new policy scheduled for 2021 will prevent developers and platforms from collecting and processing information relating to online activity (mainly through tracking) without having first obtained the explicit consent from the directly concerned. We refer to the articles published on Wednesday and Thursday for further information.

Facebook fights its battle, which we believe to be legitimate, setting itself up as the champion of those small businesses that, especially in recent months, tormented by the pandemic, have been able to reach new customers and retain those already acquired by leveraging the tools of 'personalized advertising, putting in place targeted marketing operations, structured in such a way as to address a precise promotional message to those potentially more inclined to receive it.



This is how the world works, at least the online one. This is what allowed an intuition to become what Google is today in just over two decades. It is fully part of the do ut des logic through which the user has free access to a service (Facebook is in fact a service) without putting his hand to his wallet, accepting in exchange to contribute to the business that makes it sustainable. It is also true for the publishing world that is increasingly based on advertising circuits, it is true for us who write and for you who are viewing adverts as you read this article.

As we said at the beginning, the circle is closed. We are in fact back to when in 2010 the man at the head of a platform that was then in strong expansion, speaking on the subject of privacy, frankly and genuinely defined "social norms" a concept in constant change and people more and more inclined to share the data concerning them.



In the ten years following that intervention, Facebook worked hard to shake off its reputation as a huge black hole capable of gravitating any information that comes into its orbit, directly and indirectly, taking (it must be said) also important steps forward to correct the shot where necessary, albeit almost always on the stimulus or imposition of the authorities or as a result of an accident.

Now, however, throw away the mask by declaring war on who (Apple) is doing nothing but introducing an opt out possibility, the right to make it easier for users to understand how to track their online activity and the tools through which to control them are more accessible, choosing, if desired, to escape the dynamics.

Facebook clearly explains its position, to the end. On the next page of the newspapers write clearly: "We need user data, no matter if they agree or not, we are attacking Apple because it wants to give them freedom of choice", without hiding behind the hypothesis of an imminent disaster for small traders. We can renounce privacy, but in an informed and conscious way, we do not accept instead to compromise on transparency.