In late October we reported that a coalition of trade groups in online advertising including Le Monde, Google & Facebook had filed an Antitrust Complaint against Apple in an effort to stop Apple's new iOS feature known as App Tracking Transparency. A month later and Apple's SVP of Software Craig Federighi went on offence defending the new privacy feature saying that it was inline with Apple's long standing position on the matter dating back to the late '70's with Apple II.

Yesterday Facebook went on the attack with a press release stating that "Apple controls an entire ecosystem from device to app store and apps, and uses this power to harm developers and consumers, as well as large platforms like Facebook. We hope the [EU Commission's new] DMA will also set boundaries for Apple.

Apple had hit back saying, "When invasive tracking is your business model, you tend not to welcome transparency and customer choice."

It's being reported this morning by Bloomberg that "Facebook Inc. attacked Apple Inc. in a series of full-page newspaper ads Wednesday, claiming the iPhone maker’s anticipated mobile software changes around data gathering and targeted advertising are bad for small businesses.

The ads, slated to run in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, carry the headline “We’re standing up to Apple for small businesses everywhere.”

The Facebook ads home in on upcoming changes to Apple’s iOS 14 operating system that will curb the ability of companies like Facebook to gather data about mobile users and ply them with advertising. The ads state that "While limiting how personalized ads can be used does impact larger companies like us, these changes will be devastating to small businesses." For more read the full Bloomberg report.

Update: 6:55 a.m. PST: Facebook's ad found in WSJ. 

The image was captured by Dave Strangis on his Twitter site.