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- Facebook took an unusually aggressive stance against Apple in a filing with the EU on Tuesday.
- Facebook told Europe’s competition watchdog that Apple has made “compliance policies and decisions that privilege its own services and sources of revenue to the detriment of others.”
- He specifically named two high-profile fights with Apple over the Facebook Gaming app and Apple’s plan to make it difficult for ad trackers to track users without their explicit consent.
- The Facebook complaint aims to influence proposed EU legislation to curb Apple’s power.
- Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.
Facebook has stuck the knife in Apple, complaining to the EU with the express aim of harnessing the power of the iPhone maker.
In a formal submission to an EU inquiry on Tuesday, Facebook listed a number of complaints about the way Apple manages the App Store.
The EU is consulting on the upcoming Digital Services Act, a proposed new law that will curb the power of major US platforms, including Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Google.
In its consultation document, the EU competition body asked: “As a commercial user of large online platforms, do you encounter problems related to business conditions at large online platform companies?”
Facebook checked the “Yes” box in its response and wrote: “The App Store is effectively the only way that developers can reach consumers on Apple devices.
“Like any app developer, we’ve faced challenges in enforcing Apple’s policies and technical controls around in-app payments, game apps, login tools, and online advertising. … In each category, Apple has made policy and compliance decisions that privilege its own services and revenue streams to the detriment of others. “
Facebook told the EU competition regulator that it had had problems with Apple.
Facebook
Facebook’s presentation appears to be a direct attempt to influence the proposed legislation against Apple.
Tension between the two tech giants has been building in recent months, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview this week that Apple’s App Store rules “deserve scrutiny,” though he fell short. ask for government intervention.
Facebook’s submission to the EU specifically went into detail about two high-profile disputes with Apple.
Apple vs Facebook games
The first is about Facebook’s game streaming app Facebook Gaming, which launched on iOS in August, four months after its launch on Android.
Facebook was forced to release iOS without any games to comply with Apple’s rules prohibiting distribution of games from stores other than the App Store.
“With regard to Apple, it is well known that mobile games are the most lucrative category of mobile applications in the world. A significant portion of Apple’s mobile operating system revenue comes from purchases of games distributed directly through the App Store and purchases made from those games, “wrote Facebook.
“By largely prohibiting other developers from offering applications that allow consumers to access games that are not distributed directly through the App Store, Apple ensures that iOS consumers can primarily purchase games and related services only from Apple and not from other developers, “added Facebook. .
Reduce ad tracking
Facebook’s second big complaint didn’t specifically mention Apple, but it seemed to be related to an upcoming iOS feature.
“We are particularly concerned about policy changes that may affect developers’ ability to offer services that compete with the platform’s own services. For example, large operating system / app store platforms increasingly impose stricter restrictions on developer access to data and to combine data collected on different applications and websites, “wrote Facebook.
Apple has an upcoming feature that will prevent in-app ad trackers from collecting data unless explicitly agreed to by the user.
Facebook said in August that the new feature would have the potential to reduce revenue from its Audience Network ad network by as much as 50%. Apple announced in September that it would postpone the launch of the feature, which was scheduled to go into effect with this month’s iOS 14 update, until 2021.
Facebook seemed to suggest that Apple could use the restrictions to expand its advertising presence and monopolize the market.
“It is not clear whether the large platforms that impose these restrictions will be subject to such restrictions, or whether their own growing advertising efforts will continue without such restrictions, either by not applying the same restrictions to their own services or by taking advantage of the solutions that they do. they don’t have. make available to third parties, “Facebook said.
“We are concerned that these restrictions may also be motivated, in part, by the platforms’ own business interests, such as the increased revenue that some may earn by pushing developers towards in-app payments, of which platforms they usually claim a significant part, “he added. additional.
Facebook also recently hooked up with Apple over the 30% commission it takes on all in-app payments.
Facebook asked Apple to waive this fee for a new Facebook feature that allows users to purchase tickets for virtual events. Apple refused, and Facebook condemned the move saying it would hurt small businesses that sell their tickets on the platform.
Facebook was not available for further comment on his submission to the EU when contacted by Business Insider, and Apple was not immediately available for comment.
