Facebook follows Fortnite and blames Apple for hurting small businesses

[HenrySalayne]

Summary

 

Facebook is launching a new service on their platform. It allows businesses, creators educators and media publishers to host paid online events. Small businesses will receive 100% of the payments except for payments through Apple.

 

Quotes

Quote

To support small businesses and creators, Facebook will not collect any fees from paid online events for at least the next year. For transactions on the web, and on Android in countries where we have rolled out Facebook Pay, small businesses will keep 100% of the revenue they generate from paid online events.

 

We asked Apple to reduce its 30% App Store tax or allow us to offer Facebook Pay so we could absorb all costs for businesses struggling during COVID-19. Unfortunately, they dismissed both our requests and SMBs will only be paid 70% of their hard-earned revenue. While Facebook is waiving fees for paid online events we will make other fees clear in the product. (Updated on August 14, 2020 at 1:07 PM PT to clarify where we will explain the fees.) Here’s how this will look on Android and iOS, which we submitted to Apple today for approval.

My thoughts

It seems like another big company joined forces with Fortnite to fight the 30% Apple tax. Facebook makes it look like if they are fighting for the little guys. I wonder how this will turn out for Apple.

Edit: Facebook may try to get a foot in the door of Apple devices for their own payment service "Facebook Pay" and their announced cryptocurrency "Libra".

 

Sources

https://about.fb.com/news/2020/08/paid-online-events/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-small-business/facebook-says-apple-in-app-fees-hurt-businesses-during-covid/2020/08/14/2ce1cd80-de6f-11ea-b4f1-25b762cdbbf4_story.html

 

 

[captain_to_fire]

7 minutes ago, HenrySalayne said:

Facebook makes it look like if they are fighting for the little guys.

As long as the “little guys” handover their data to Facebook and sell it for advertisers to target 

[Kisai]

45 minutes ago, HenrySalayne said:

 

 

My thoughts

It seems like another big company joined forces with Fortnite to fight the 30% Apple tax. Facebook makes it look like if they are fighting for the little guys. I wonder how this will turn out for Apple.

 

 

Honestly, Facebook is even worse than Epic running this P. T. Barnum con.

[Lord Vile]

2 hours ago, HenrySalayne said:

Summary

 

Facebook is launching a new service on their platform. It allows businesses, creators educators and media publishers to host paid online events. Small businesses will receive 100% of the payments except for payments through Apple.

 

Quotes

My thoughts

It seems like another big company joined forces with Fortnite to fight the 30% Apple tax. Facebook makes it look like if they are fighting for the little guys. I wonder how this will turn out for Apple.

 

Sources

https://about.fb.com/news/2020/08/paid-online-events/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-small-business/facebook-says-apple-in-app-fees-hurt-businesses-during-covid/2020/08/14/2ce1cd80-de6f-11ea-b4f1-25b762cdbbf4_story.html

I wonder how Facebook plans to monetise this... oh yeah not being upfront about it and either selling data or monitoring the business to either steal any good ideas they can or just buy the rest and absorb the company. 
 

Plus I’m sure a business would take 70% of the price to gain access to the hundreds of millions of people on iOS.

[Vishera]

The reason they jump on the wagon is because it's a business opportunity,and Zucks can't say no to money.

I know that facebook doesn't take money from developers,their business model is different - harvesting user data and using it to display advertisements.

Any developer using facebook for it will have to sign up it's soul to the devil.

[HenrySalayne]

30 minutes ago, Lord Vile said:

I wonder how Facebook plans to monetise this... oh yeah not being upfront about it and either selling data or monitoring the business to either steal any good ideas they can or just buy the rest and absorb the company. 

Facebook may try to get a foot in the door of Apple devices for their own payment service "Facebook Pay" and their announced cryptocurrency "Libra".

[mr moose]

just because facebook is a scummy data stealing etc etc etc, doesn't invalidate the problem with apple.

 

 

 

[Lord Vile]

31 minutes ago, mr moose said:

just because facebook is a scummy data stealing etc etc etc, doesn't invalidate the problem with apple.

 

 

 

There isn’t a problem with Apple it’s literally how every market works. Unless you’re made about the % cut steam takes from the poor indie developers and small

dev studios that fill up the market place with crap. 

[Trik'Stari]

41 minutes ago, mr moose said:

just because facebook is a scummy data stealing etc etc etc, doesn't invalidate the problem with apple.

 

 

 

Agreed

9 minutes ago, Lord Vile said:

There isn’t a problem with Apple it’s literally how every market works. Unless you’re made about the % cut steam takes from the poor indie developers and small

dev studios that fill up the market place with crap. 

Apple has a number of problems not just limited to their digital storefront.

[Lord Vile]

27 minutes ago, Trik'Stari said:

Agreed

Apple has a number of problems not just limited to their digital storefront.

Like what? 
 

With this digital storefront thing I honestly don’t see the big deal, it’s literally the only way to monetise the App Store as apps such as fortnite are FREE downloads and make money through in app purchases, if Apple and google did not take a cut they would be hosting Epics game at a loss.

[mr moose]

2 hours ago, Lord Vile said:

There isn’t a problem with Apple it’s literally how every market works. Unless you’re made about the % cut steam takes from the poor indie developers and small

dev studios that fill up the market place with crap. 

If you're not willing to accept the obvious problems with apple there is no point trying to explain the more complex issues.

[Doobeedoo]

Ahaha here we go. 

[RejZoR]

Facebook doesn't take a cut from the transaction. They just take all your information about you with it. Epic hypocrisy lmao

[HenrySalayne]

3 minutes ago, RejZoR said:

Facebook doesn't take a cut from the transaction.

Yet.

[vetali]

This is just a convenient event for FB to piggy back off of. Their real salt revolves around ios 14 and the privacy features it brings.

[Trik'Stari]

2 hours ago, Lord Vile said:

Like what? 
 

With this digital storefront thing I honestly don’t see the big deal, it’s literally the only way to monetise the App Store as apps such as fortnite are FREE downloads and make money through in app purchases, if Apple and google did not take a cut they would be hosting Epics game at a loss.

Mainly the part where Apple refuses to allow other means of installing apps outside of the app store, which is stupid.

 

Fortnite could just start their own hosting service, but it would be difficult because of Apples walled garden of an app store.

 

[CarlBar]

2 hours ago, Lord Vile said:

Like what? 
 

With this digital storefront thing I honestly don’t see the big deal, it’s literally the only way to monetise the App Store as apps such as fortnite are FREE downloads and make money through in app purchases, if Apple and google did not take a cut they would be hosting Epics game at a loss.

 

As has allready been pointed out it comes back to the fact that there's no alternative to the apple store. On android, (or PC for that matter), you can choose to not use the google store, (steam in PC terms). With apple devices it's the apple store or nothing.

[Lord Vile]

9 minutes ago, Trik'Stari said:

Mainly the part where Apple refuses to allow other means of installing apps outside of the app store, which is stupid.

 

Fortnite could just start their own hosting service, but it would be difficult because of Apples walled garden of an app store.

 

Why would they? It’s their OS and their devices. So they should be able to set their own terms 

[RejZoR]

Also one could argue freedom of choice and installing on your own, but that also brings liability. Reason why there is so little malware for Apple devices is because of this. And if someone still sneaks in something, they have leverage and control. If someone sneaks malware on Android via sideloading, Google can do very little. Unless they keep on scanning apps and being sure they are detecting malicious ones. Which we know how well that works. It's not all black and white. This is the user safety side. The other is their profit. Which is stupid blaming them. If you all were owners of Apple and had such system in place, you also wouldn't let it go. So I kinda hate it, but also understand it.

[Lord Vile]

2 minutes ago, RejZoR said:

Also one could argue freedom of choice and installing on your own, but that also brings liability. Reason why there is so little malware for Apple devices is because of this. And if someone still sneaks in something, they have leverage and control. If someone sneaks malware on Android via sideloading, Google can do very little. Unless they keep on scanning apps and being sure they are detecting malicious ones. Which we know how well that works. It's not all black and white. This is the user safety side. The other is their profit. Which is stupid blaming them. If you all were owners of Apple and had such system in place, you also wouldn't let it go. So I kinda hate it, but also understand it.

Apple does harp on about security and such quite a lot it’s a major factor in their appeal. 

[RejZoR]

@Lord Vile

And I can understand why. Android is such absolute wild wild west when it comes to this. Sure, it gives freedom to users, but also inevitable chaos...

[Trik'Stari]

2 hours ago, Lord Vile said:

Why would they? It’s their OS and their devices. So they should be able to set their own terms 

Mainly because it's a shitty practice that fucks over the consumer, not to mention could be considered a monopoly and therefore get them into hot water should the government actually decide to do something about it.

 

But mainly because it's a shitty practice that fucks over the consumer.

 

Also I'm fairly certain when you buy the device, it becomes YOUR device and is no longer their property. You absolutely should have the right to run whatever legal software you desire on that device.

[Lord Vile]

7 minutes ago, Trik'Stari said:

Mainly because it's a shitty practice that fucks over the consumer, not to mention could be considered a monopoly and therefore get them into hot water should the government actually decide to do something about it.

 

But mainly because it's a shitty practice that fucks over the consumer.

 

Also I'm fairly certain when you buy the device, it becomes YOUR device and is no longer their property. You absolutely should have the right to run whatever legal software you desire on that device.

How does it fuck over the consumer? It doesn't even fuck over devs as long as your software is sustainable the 30% cut to have access to a userbase of 900 million potential customers is great.

 

By that definition every platform is a monopoly.

 

if you wanna try strip iOS sure, iOS is Apples IP and you have to agree to their Terms to use it. Same with all proprietary OS'

 

 

[GDRRiley]

facebook is being so stupid but not surprised by these actions.

apple, microsoft, sony and google all need to lower their cut from 30% (cus guess what it is almost industry wide that 30% is the cut from these stores)

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Trik'Stari said:

Mainly because it's a shitty practice that fucks over the consumer, not to mention could be considered a monopoly and therefore get them into hot water should the government actually decide to do something about it.

 

But mainly because it's a shitty practice that fucks over the consumer.

 

Also I'm fairly certain when you buy the device, it becomes YOUR device and is no longer their property. You absolutely should have the right to run whatever legal software you desire on that device.

Fortnite still makes over a million a day from the Apple app with the tax.