Facebook Stock falls as Zuckerberg calls Apple

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Problems occur

apple

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Facebook.

At the conference call Wednesday after

Facebook

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

apple

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

“Apple may say they do it to help people, but the moves clearly follow their competitive interests,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in Wednesday afternoon’s earnings call. “And I think that dynamic is important for people’s understanding, because we and others will deal with that in the foreseeable future.”

The next change Zuckerberg refers to is an arcane part of Apple’s iOS mobile software that helps companies selling ads track what people do on their phones. Facebook, and many other advertising-based companies, use tracking technology to target ads more effectively and increase their value.

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

It’s unclear when Apple plans to release the update, but Facebook has long argued that Apple should continue with its plans, further hurting small and medium-sized businesses. These types of businesses need precise targeting technology to place ads in front of their customers, rather than making a state-specific or zip-code ad purchase. Large companies can afford to make big ad purchases, Facebook executives have said.

But Facebook seems to be reflecting far beyond heavily worded earnings call statements.

According to a report published in The Information Thursday, lawyers hired by Facebook are preparing an antitrust lawsuit against the iPhone maker. The lawsuit argues that Apple’s rules for its App Store are unfair. To list an app in the Apple Store, developers like Facebook must follow a number of rules, such as using their payment system.

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

It was not immediately known if Facebook planned to go ahead with the litigation against Apple.

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

Despite the problems Facebook has with Apple, Baird tech analyst Colin Sebastian wrote in a note to customers on Thursday that Facebook is one of the strongest and most innovative large-scale internet platforms. He wrote that his core business remains on the rise and described the quarter as “strong”, noting that growth during the year may slow.

Facebook shares closed Thursday with a 2.6% drop to $ 265.