Facebook says Apple's privacy protections help Apple more than users

In a call with investors after announcing the company's fourth-quarter earnings, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took time to discuss Apple's privacy protections that are being continuously rolled out and enforced in iOS 14.

As reported by CNBC, Zuckerberg says that the privacy changes that Apple is putting into place will be detrimental to its business and that the protections serve Apple more than they help consumers.

The company also warned Apple's privacy changes in iOS 14, which could impact Facebook's ability to target ads, could start to affect its business late in the first quarter.

Zuckerberg said Facebook increasingly views Apple as one of its biggest competitors.

"Apple may say they're doing this to help people, but the moves clearly track their competitive interests," Zuckerberg said. "This dynamic is important for people to understand because we and others are going to be up against this for the foreseeable future."

Source: Apple

Facebook has been a vocal opponent of new privacy protections put in place by Apple in iOS 14. Rather than opting users into tracking by default, the company will begin to enforce a new standard that requires developers like Facebook to ask for permission before tracking users across platforms. Developers are also now required to display a privacy label on their app in the App Store to show users how it uses their data.

Facebook has attacked the company from multiple angles, saying that it would hurt its business, the advertising industry, as well as small businesses who offer services through their platform.

Apple had agreed to delay the rollout of some of the changes but is expected to begin enforcing them soon.