The apology also reiterated that Facebook had already changed its data collection rules, and that it was looking into "every single app" that had access to large data sets. If it finds other offenders, it will "ban them and tell everyone affected." The ads didn't mention Cambridge Analytica or its profiling work for the sake of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

The ads represent an unusual step for Facebook and illustrate how much of a threat it sees from the reaction to the data sharing scandal. On top of investigations and lawsuits, it's dealing with a cultural backlash as companies pull their Facebook pages and trends like #DeleteFacebook gain footing. There's a genuine concern that it might lose favor with its vast user base, and it wants to convey its mea culpa to as many of those people as possible before there's a serious hit to its bottom line.