Facebook shares fall when Zuckerberg catches Apple’s eye

Text size

The problem is forming between

Apple

and

Facebook.

On Wednesday’s conference call after

Facebook

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

Apple

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

“Apple can say that it is doing this to help people, but the movements clearly track their competitive interests,” said CEO Mark Zuckerberg in the conference call on Wednesday. “And I think that dynamic is important for people to understand why we and others will be facing this in the near future.”

The impending change Zuckerberg is referring to is a mysterious piece of Apple’s mobile iOS software that helps companies that sell ads track what people do on their phones. Tracking technology is used by Facebook – and many other advertising-based businesses – to target ads more effectively and thereby increase their value.

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

It is unclear when Apple plans to release the update, but Facebook has long argued that if Apple continues with its plans, it will hurt small and medium-sized businesses more. These types of businesses need precise targeting technology to place ads in front of their customers, rather than making a purchase for a specific state or postal code ad. Large companies can afford to make large ad purchases, Facebook executives said.

But Facebook seems to be thinking of going well beyond well-formulated profit call statements.

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

Zuckerberg also addressed specific issues in the conference call with Apple’s App Store practices. “I want to point out that we increasingly see Apple as one of our biggest competitors,” said Zuckerberg. “IMessage is a fundamental weapon in your ecosystem. It comes pre-installed on all iPhone and they precede it 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 clear whether Facebook planned to pursue litigation against Apple.

Epic filed a similar lawsuit last year against Apple amid an advertising blitz and later argued that the company tried to implement its own payment system within its popular Fifteen days video game. Epic asked the courts to force Apple to change its business model for its app store.

Despite the problems Facebook is having with Apple, Baird technology 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 the positive side remains for his core businesses and called the quarter “strong”, although he noted that growth during the year may slow.

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