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Facebook took out full-page newspaper ads blasting Apple for its iOS update that will make it harder for the social media firm to target users with ads

The ads have also run in the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal. Facebook also launched a website about Apple's software update featuring testimonies from small businesses across the US describing how the privacy changes will harm them and how they reach customers through ads on the platform.

Apple and Facebook did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. Facebook plans to hold a press briefing today regarding the issue.

The ads come after Apple released new App Store privacy labels this week that tell users how apps are collecting data on them, including how Facebook's iOS app tracks you and your personal information. 

This isn't the first time Facebook has made such a jab at Apple. The two sparred in November when Apple accused Facebook of collecting "as much data as possible" and showing a "disregard for user privacy." Facebook responded by accusing Apple of using its "dominant market position to self-preference their own data collection." Apple has been accused of wielding an unfair advantage over third-party developers and beefing up its own apps and services.

"They claim it's about privacy, but it's about profit," Facebook said in a statement at the time.

Read more: The battle between Facebook and Apple over privacy is about more than just ads — it's about the future of how we interact with tech

Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, said at a data privacy conference last week that some companies will argue Apple's new tracking guidelines would do more harm than good.

"We need the world to see those arguments for what they are: a brazen attempt to maintain the privacy-invasive status quo," Federighi said at the conference.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also called out Apple's controversial App Store policies in an August company-wide meeting, accusing the company of having a "stranglehold" on apps and charging "monopoly rents" in its store, thereby stifling competition. It also called Apple out for refusing to reduce its 30% App Store fee for a new Facebook feature in August that could have helped business owners during the pandemic.

User data privacy has been an issue at the center of scrutiny levied against Facebook, Apple, and other tech companies as public awareness of their internet platforms' impact has sharpened into focus in recent years. 

Lawmakers have begun to zero in on the industry and have questioned company executives over antitrust violations, privacy issues, and a bevy of other topics.

The US Federal Trade Commission on Monday ordered Facebook and eight other firms — excluding Apple — to share how they collect, track, and use online consumer data. The order is inquiring into how the companies track data and target online ads to consumers, whether they use algorithms to handle personal information, and how their online practices affect kids and teens.

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