Can Apple Lead The Way On Ad Privacy?

The creator of the iPhone has the freedom to make drastic decisions about user information.

- Marty Swant

One year ago, several major ad-tech trade groups accused Apple of threatening to “sabotage” the economic underpinnings of the internet after the tech giant cracked down on how companies track users through its Safari browser’s cookie-tracking policies. The June 2017 change placed a 24-hour limit on ad retargeting as a way to improve both customer experience and privacy. Groups such as the 4A’s, American Advertising Federation, Interactive Advertising Bureau and the Association of National Advertisers urged Apple to reconsider its “opaque and arbitrary” standards.

“You’ve got a hostage situation where the bad players in ad tech have taken people hostage,” said Tony Haile, former CEO of Chartbeat, whose startup, Scroll, charges readers a subscription price in exchange for an ad-free format. “And Apple’s response was to throw a hand grenade into the room.”