Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg used the opening speech from the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call to blow Apple about the upcoming privacy changes, and to say that Facebook increasingly sees Apple as one of its biggest competitors.
Apple is gearing up for a software change that will more prominently prompt iPhone and iPad users to share their ad-tracking information. The online advertising industry expects to be hit as some of the users choose not to share that information.
Facebook, which derives almost all of its revenue from online advertising, has been candid about the changes by running newspaper ads, publishing a website and running a blog post, outlining the arguments Apple is opposing about the change it claims’ threatens the personalized ads that millions of small businesses rely on to find and reach customers. ”
Zuckerberg suggested in his comments that Apple is using its position to help its own services, especially its iMessage service, which competes with Facebook’s Messenger and WhatsApp services.
“iMessage is an important hub in their ecosystem,” he said. “It comes pre-installed on every iPhone and they prefer it with private APIs and permissions, which is why iMessage is the most used messaging service in the US”
He said Apple’s business is now increasingly dependent on gaining share of apps and services.
“Apple has every reason to use their dominant platform position to interfere with the way our apps and other apps work, which they do regularly to show their own preference,” he said. “This is affecting the growth of millions of businesses around the world, including with the upcoming iOS 14 changes.”
Zuckerberg also reiterated Facebook’s argument that Apple’s privacy changes will make it more difficult for small businesses to reach their customers with targeted ads.
“Apple may say they are doing this to help people, but the steps clearly follow the interests of their competitors,” he said. “We and others will be dealing with this in the near future.”
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