Facebook says that to add the new paid events feature to its app on iOS, Apple had it remove a message telling users that Apple takes a 30% cut of sales

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc on Thursday told Reuters that Apple Inc rejected its attempt to tell users the iPhone maker would take a 30% cut …

Reuters 2020-08-28

Context & Ripple Effects

Two weeks after Facebook launched paid online events in 20 countries with fees waived during COVID-19 — publicly framing Apple's refusal to waive its 30% iOS cut as a hit to small businesses — the dispute has moved from pricing to information control. Facebook says Apple approved the feature only after stripping out an in-app message disclosing that cut to buyers.

The episode sits inside a broader sequence of Apple making case-by-case exceptions rather than changing policy: days later it let Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter sell ads via direct transactions outside IAP (the ad-sales exemption), and by late September it had granted Facebook a temporary reprieve allowing Facebook Pay processing without the 30% cut through December 31.

First-order effects

Buyers of paid events on iOS lose access to the disclosure that Apple takes 30% of each sale, while Facebook gains the feature but at the cost of Apple controlling what its own app can say about pricing.

Second-order effects

Facebook keeps the pressure on by routing around the fee where Apple permits it — the temporary Facebook Pay waiver and the ad-transaction exemption show Apple conceding ground feature-by-feature under public scrutiny.

Third-order effects

Disclosure itself becomes a battleground over platform take rates: if developers keep surfacing fee information and regulators watch, Apple faces a choice between uniform rules and a patchwork of negotiated exemptions that invites antitrust attention.

The trend: App Store economics are shifting from a flat 30% take enforced silently to contested, selectively waived fees whose visibility developers are fighting to make explicit.

Discussion

@bitvoicefm @bitvoicefm on x
I'll take your money and you can't tell anyone about it, sounds like ‘robbing’. https://twitter.com/...
@basche42 Ben Basche on x
Apple should start telling iOS users what Facebook is up to https://twitter.com/...
@firt Maximiliano Firtman on x
Apple gets 30% of digital goods including, cooking classes you can take on Facebook app from individuals. FB put a sign highlighting Apple was taking 30%; Apple rejected: “the update violated an App Store rule that doesn't let developers show “irrelevant” information to users.” h…
@mattlynley Matthew Lynley on x
TBH if anything this shows how opportunistic Facebook is. They could have done this years ago but were clearly not interested/too scared of being the first to do so. https://twitter.com/...
@latentexistence Ella on x
Apple doesn't allow apps to mention that Apple gets a 30% cut of all in-app purchases https://www.theverge.com/...
@sierra_offline @sierra_offline on x
Is there a term for the sublime fascination one feels watching multibillion dollar companies play hide-the-nut with one another https://www.theverge.com/...
@mdudas Mike Dudas on x
Apple rejects Facebook app update that included message to users alerting them that Apple skims 30% off the purchase of tickets to online events, including things like cooking classes hosted by out-of-work chefs https://www.theverge.com/...
@hanyrizk_ Hany Rizk on x
This can not be an isolated event. First the drama with @EpicGames & @FortniteGame, and now with Facebook... worth observing Apple's moves right now https://twitter.com/...
@robertmclaws Robert McLaws on x
Apple is just hell bent of getting itself fucked by Uncle Sam. Not sure what the purpose is at this point but they are fighting a losing battle. https://twitter.com/...
@shortformernie Ernie Smith on x
Idea: Facebook should pull an Epic Games right now. The moment is ripe. https://www.theverge.com/...
@bdkjones Bryan Jones on x
@tim_cook @pschiller You know you're on the wrong side when you have to hide the truth from users. If you're not embarrassed about stealing 30% from event hosts, why force Facebook to hide that from them? https://www.theverge.com/...
@i0n1c Stefan Esser on x
As I said we were also told that we are not allowed to tell users what features we had to remove from our app due to Apple's pressure. This will only end once government recognise AppStores as monopolies they are. https://twitter.com/...
@zerohedge @zerohedge on x
Apple service revenue starting to look shaky: Apple Rejected Facebook's Attempt to Tell Users About Fees: Rtrs
@joeytweeets Joey on x
@zerohedge They make the devices. They own the hardware and software IP. The entire “smile” curve belongs to Apple. They're fine.
@11rcombs @11rcombs on x
at this point apple is just shouting “REGULATE ME, DADDY” from the rooftops https://www.theverge.com/...
@tomwarren Tom Warren on x
Facebook really going after Apple. Almost as if iOS 14 and beyond is about to kill their ad tracking businesses 🤔 https://twitter.com/...
@webreflection Andrea Giammarchi on x
I don't follow this Apple 30% tax issue ... if you're selling digital content, go PWA and publish an App to bring you to such PWA if store discoverability is the issue? ... or maybe that's banned too? All I know is that PWA is the answer, like it or not. https://www.theverge.com/…
@thekenyeung Ken Yeung on x
So Apple and Google are dictating what content developers can have in their apps? “Facebook said that Apple cited an App Store rule that bars developers from showing ‘irrelevant’ information to users.” https://www.reuters.com/...
@model3owners @model3owners on x
The antisocial network is upset that iOS 14, due out next month, will require apps to ask users for permission before Facebook grabs data from their phones.🤣🤣 https://www.theregister.com/ ...
@hoofnagle Chris Hoofnagle on x
WSJ: “Facebook fears many users will reject tracking, if given the choice, affecting not only its business but also any app that uses its services to sell ads, from game-makers to news publishers...” https://www.wsj.com/...?

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