Software
Apple (temporarily) waives the App Store charge for Facebook's online activities.
Last month, Facebook launched funding for paying online events — and like many of the companies offering such events suffered during the coronavirus pandemic, the company also stated it would not collect fees for the next year. At the same time, it complained that Apple had "dismissed" its offer to waive the normal 30 percent in-app purchasing charge from the App Store.
Today , Facebook is announcing a reversal on the part of Apple: online event payments will be processed through Facebook Pay, without Apple collecting a 30 per cent discount, which ensures that companies will receive all profits from their online activities, minus taxes. This agreement will last until 31 December and will not extend to gaming developers.
The news comes after Facebook has openly pressed Apple to change its stance. It also sent an update to the iOS app claiming that Apple takes 30 percent of this transaction in the event payments flow. (Facebook reported that Apple rejected the update for containing details that is "irrelevant" to users.)
And while the two companies seem to have come to an understanding, today's Facebook posts are still a little barbed.
This is a tough time for small businesses and developers, which is why we are not collecting any fees for paying online events as communities remain closed for the pandemic, said Facebook spokesperson Joe Osborne. "Apple decided to offer a short, three-month respite in which struggling companies would have to pay Apple a full 30 percent App Store tax again."
In explaining the exemption for gaming developers, Facebook Gaming Vice President Vivek Sharma said, Unfortunately, we had to make this concession in order to get a temporary reprimand for other companies.
When asked about the move, Apple made the following statement: "The App Store offers a great business opportunity for all developers who use it to attract half a billion users per week in 175 countries. To ensure that every developer can build and grow a successful company, Apple maintains a simple , consistent set of guidelines that apply equally to all.
More precisely, Apple said it was giving Facebook until the end of the year to make in-app payments for these activities and get them in line with the App Store rules.
This also comes as Fortnite-maker Epic Games is fighting a legal battle and promotional campaign against Apple's App Store fees, with Fortnite excluded from the iOS App Store. Epic is now part of a just-announced publishing organization called the Coalition for App Justice, which is lobbying for changes to app stores or regulations.
