4 Min Read
(Reuters) - Facebook Inc soundly beat quarterly revenue estimates on Wednesday after heavy holiday advertising by e-commerce retailers, but it warned Apple’s impending privacy changes could hurt revenue by interfering with ad targeting.
The world’s biggest social media company said it expected to face “significant ad targeting headwinds in 2021.” Facebook forecast that Apple’s update of its iPhone operating system to iOS 14 could start biting into revenues as early as the end of the first quarter.
Shares were flat after hours following an initial drop.
The fourth-quarter results validated the company’s focus on making it easier for retailers to sell products to Facebook users, who frequently were stuck at home last year during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Apple says new privacy notifications to roll out in early spring
28 Jan 2021 - 13:19
FILE PHOTO: A man wears a face mask while waiting at an Apple Store before Apple s 5G new iPhone 12 go on sale, as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak continues in Shanghai China October 23, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo
Reuters
Apple Inc said on Thursday that new privacy pop-up notifications will start appearing on most iPhones as soon as early spring, a requirement that major digital advertising firms such as Facebook Inc have warned will harm their businesses.
The one-time notices will require an app developer to ask a user s permission before the app tracks their activities across other companies apps and websites. Digital advertising experts believe that the warning will cause many users to decline permission.
Facebook profit in fourth quarter rises 53% to $11 2 billion theusnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theusnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
2 Min Read
(Reuters) - Apple Inc Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook on Thursday criticized polarization and misinformation on social media, intensifying a conflict between the iPhone maker and Facebook Inc.
In remarks delivered at the Computers, Privacy and Data Protection conference, Cook critiqued apps that he argued collect too much personal information and prioritize “conspiracy theories and violent incitement simply because of their high rates of engagement.”
“At a moment of rampant disinformation and conspiracy theories juiced by algorithms, we can no longer turn a blind eye to a theory of technology that says all engagement is good engagement the longer the better and all with the goal of collecting as much data as possible,” Cook said.
Facebook had 2 8 billion users at end of December shanghainews.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from shanghainews.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.