[ad_1]
Facebook said on Friday that companies running paid online events on its iOS app would not need to pay a 30 percent fee to Apple for the rest of 2020, temporarily defusing a showdown between the two tech giants.
The social media company said in a blog post that all businesses except game creators would be eligible for Apple’s fee waiver and can process payments for the online events they host through Facebook Pay.
“Apple agreed to provide a brief three-month respite, after which struggling companies will once again have to pay Apple the full 30 percent App Store tax,” said Facebook company spokesman Joe Osborne, in a statement.
Facebook said it will not charge its own fees for online events as long as businesses remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, until at least August 2021.
Apple said Friday that such online events have always been subject to its in-app payment rules, which charge commissions between 15 and 30 percent of the purchase price of paid online events.
Apple said it has given companies affected by the pandemic more time to implement the system and that Facebook is receiving the same exemption until the end of the year that ClassPass and Airbnb have given them.
Game creators will not receive the exemption because the service launched in early 2018 and is not a physical business affected by the pandemic, Apple said.
“Apple maintains a clear and consistent set of guidelines that apply equally to everyone,” Apple said in a statement.
Facebook defied Apple’s rules last month, trying to tell users in an app update that the iPhone maker would take a cut of sales for a new online events feature, but then removed the message after it Apple declined the update.
The world’s largest social media company presented the move as a defense for small businesses and app developers, joining other developers like Fortnite creator Epic Games, who is suing Apple over antitrust charges over fees.
Facebook is also discussing with Apple about new privacy rules for iPhones that will require more notifications before tracking users on apps.
The social media giant said Apple’s decision to raise fees came with a trap that excluded game creators from being able to use Facebook Pay at paid events online on iOS.
“Unfortunately, we had to make this concession to get a temporary reprieve for other companies,” said Vivek Sharma, vice president of Facebook Gaming.
Apple is defending an antitrust lawsuit brought by Fortnite creator Epic Games over its in-app payment rules.
© Thomson Reuters 2020
In 2020, will WhatsApp get the main feature all Indians are waiting for? We talked about this on Orbital, our weekly tech podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.
