Apple Inc. is flexing its power as a self-appointed privacy protector, punishing Google and Facebook Inc. over violations of its developer policies governing personal data in moves that harden battle lines over one of the technology industry’s most sensitive issues.
The iPhone maker on Thursday suspended internal apps used by Google employees on Apple’s iOS mobile operating system, after the Alphabet Inc. unit acknowledged it had used one such app to gather data on internet use from consumers who volunteered in exchange for...