Oliver Haslam on August 29, 2020, 1:09 am

Facebook Wanted to Tell Users About Apple’s 30% Slice Of In-App Purchases But Apple Stopped It

The subject of Apple and its insistence on taking a 30% cut from any app that offers in-app digital purchases is very much a story right now. Epic and Apple are butting heads over that right now, with Fortnite having been removed from the App Store because it tried to bypass Apple when handling payments.

Now Facebook is getting involved, with the social network reportedly trying to tell users that 30% of their money was going to Apple.

Facebook also says that when it tried to help small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, Apple refused to waive its 30% cut of sales made on the social network. Then it tried to add what it called a “transparency notice” so customers knew that 30% was going to Apple. Apple wouldn’t allow it, according to a Reuters report.

Facebook earlier this month said it planned to roll out a new tool that would let online influencers and other businesses host paid online events as a way to offset revenue lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company said it had asked Apple to waive the 30% fee the iPhone maker charges for in-app purchases so Facebook could pass on all of the events revenue to business owners, but that Apple declined.

On the subject of preventing Facebook from telling customers about the 30% cut, Apple pointed to an App Store rule that prevents “irrelevant” information from being displayed.

Facebook said that Apple cited an App Store rule that bars developers from showing “irrelevant” information to users.

Apple is very much under the microscope right now with people and companies concerned that it’s using its size and cash pile as a way to prevent competition and take advantage of others. Stories like this won’t be helping its case.