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Comment by tyrust | Hacker News Reader

> In response to the discussion on his post, Levy [Facebook’s vice president for ads] said the campaign was “not about our business model.”

> “That’s Apple’s marketing working and convincing you to scapegoat us so they can decide how the internet should work — even beyond their devices,” he wrote. “I’m an optimist who works in technology because I think tech can be a lever for democratizing access and giving opportunity. Including for businesses. And if you think this is going to stop with personalized ads . . . well, then I disagree.”

Allowing users to choose whether they want to be tracked passes the decision of "how the internet should work" from companies that sell ads to the users. It sounds like Levy just wants to remain in control of that decision.

Then he has the audacity to mention "democracy" despite wanting to remove power from the majority of the affected people.

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As if Facebook needs Apple's help to look bad.

While I'm under no illusion that Apple is somehow the lone bastion of mega-corporate ethics, Facebook's interests don't align with mine in any way. Apple's interests do to some non-zero degree, so in this particular instance I don't have an issue with Apple pursuing their interests at the expense of Facebook's.

At least with Apple it’s a product and I can vote with my wallet. With Facebook the client is the advertiser, exactly what this campaign is all about. I don’t have the feeling the users interests are Facebooks interest beyond a shallow need to keep governments of their back.

I like when people say « Apple products are way overpriced! » – That is the price point when the company sells the raw iPhone with no partnerships inside. In 2006 most phones were feature phones, locked-in with the phone operator. Apple’s strategy has always been to be independent. It costs more to the end-user, but the end-user is the sole buyer. Their strategy is the same with Facebook: Thanks to their independence, Apple can decide in favor of the consumer.

>> "so they can decide how the internet should work — even beyond their devices"

How does the decision Apple has made "work beyond their devices"? If I'm not on an Apple Device, the iOS changes do not affect how FB can continue to track me.

Some poor business (outside the Apple ecosystem) can no longer target you because Facebook lacks your data

Sorry. Not sorry. Get a better business plan.

> I’m an optimist who works in technology because I think tech can be a lever for democratizing access and giving opportunity.

Is anyone else tired of this worn-out canard? It seems like every message in my LinkedIn inbox is from some company "democratizing" this or that nowadays. Any tech company aspiring to a large customer base now makes a generic claim to liberating the masses as well.

I literally have those sentences framed in our offices, to remind my employees that we are just making software. Sentences taken from websites we stumble across, like « We advance humanity » or « 125 years experience with the future », all on backgrounds of cute things which people pretend to be helping because they provide the software that helps build a machine for the doctor who helps a kid in Africa. Let’s be humble, as employees the company is here to provide us with experience and pay, and hopefully a good time; We must be mindful of the community we’re in and always talk to the old lady upstairs and lend our drill to the father who’s rebuilding his bathroom in the building; and the software we build has a nice role among the million other cogs that make society work. No go back to taking care of your families ;)

It honestly has a negative connotation for me since it’s been so overused to almost be meaningless. It either means they have no business model or their business model is surveillance for profit. Big red flag.

Slippery slope argument.

"Sure, it's tracking today, but next they'll want to make it illegal to browse without an iCloud account!"

Shrill.

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