Facebook Stock falls as Zuckerberg calls Apple

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Problems arise between

Apple

and

Facebook.

In Wednesday’s conference call after

Facebook

(ticker: FB) reported earnings, took CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Apple

(AAPL) to the task, saying that Apple’s future changes to its ad tracking technology are in its own interest and not to help people, as Apple claimed.

“Apple may say they are doing this to help people, but the moves are clearly in their competitive interests,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a call for gains late Wednesday. “And I think this dynamic is important for people to understand, because we and others will be dealing with this in the foreseeable future.”

The upcoming change Zuckerberg is referring to is an arcane part of Apple’s iOS mobile software, which helps companies selling ads track what people do on their phones. Tracking technology is used by Facebook – and many other ad-based companies – to target ads more effectively and thus increase their value.

In December, Apple CEO Tim Cook said Apple believes people should be able to choose on the data collected about them and how they are used. He pointed out in a tweet that Facebook can still track people, but will soon have to ask permission to do so.

It’s unclear when Apple intends to launch the update, but Facebook has long argued that if Apple continued its plans, it would affect small and medium-sized businesses the most. These types of companies need precise targeting technology to place their ads in front of their customers, as opposed to buying state-specific or zip code ads. Large companies can afford to make large ad purchases, Facebook executives said.

But Facebook seems to be thinking of going far beyond strong-earned appeal statements.

According to a report in The Information Thursday, lawyers hired by Facebook are preparing an antitrust lawsuit against the iPhone manufacturer. The lawsuit alleges that Apple’s App Store rules are unfair. To display an app in the Apple Store, developers like Facebook have to follow a number of rules, such as using its payment system.

Zuckerberg addressed a specific issue in the earnings call and with the Apple App Store practices. “I want to emphasize that we see more and more of Apple as one of our biggest competitors,” Zuckerberg said. “IMessage is a key weapon in their ecosystem. It comes pre-installed on every iPhone and has been prefaced with private APIs and permissions, which is why iMessage is the most used messaging service in the US. ”An API, or application programming interface, allows developers to integrate their applications with popular software platforms.

It was not immediately clear whether Facebook intended to continue the process with Apple.

Epic filed a similar lawsuit last year against Apple, amid lightning and argued after the company tried to implement its own payment system in its popular Fortnite video game. Epic has asked the courts to force Apple to change its business model for its app store.

Despite Facebook’s problems with Apple, Baird technology analyst Colin Sebastian wrote in a note to customers on Thursday that Facebook is one of the most powerful and innovative large-scale internet platforms. He wrote that he remains positive for his core business and called the quarter “strong”, while noting that growth during the year may slow down.

Facebook shares closed on Thursday, down 2.6% to $ 265.