Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg used the initial statements of the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call to exploit Apple for its upcoming privacy changes and to say that Facebook increasingly sees Apple as one of its biggest competitors .
Apple is preparing for a software change that will prompt iPhone and iPad users to stand out if they want to share their information for ad tracking purposes. The online advertising industry is expected to be affected as a percentage of users choose not to share this information.
Facebook, which earns almost all of its revenue from online advertising, has been outspoken about the changes, posting newspaper ads, posting a website, and posting a blog post setting out its arguments against Apple. by the change he claims “threatens personalized ads that millions of companies rely on to find and reach customers.”
Zuckerberg, in his comments, suggested that Apple uses its position to help its own services, in particular the iMessage service, which competes with Facebook’s Messenger and WhatsApp services.
“iMessage is a key part of their ecosystem,” he said. “It comes pre-installed on all iPhones and they prefer it with private APIs and permissions, which is why iMessage is the most used messaging service in the United States.”
He said Apple’s business is now increasingly dependent on gaining participation in apps and services.
“Apple has every incentive to use its dominant position on the platform to interfere with the operation of our apps and other apps, which they usually do to prefer theirs,” he said. “This affects the growth of millions of businesses worldwide, including upcoming changes to iOS 14.”
Zuckerberg also reiterated Facebook’s argument that Apple’s privacy changes would make it difficult for small businesses to reach their customers with specific ads.
“Apple may say it does it to help people, but the moves clearly follow the interests of its competitors,” he said. “We and others will deal with this in the foreseeable future.”
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