Facebook accuses the ‘Apple tax’ of stifling its plan to help struggling small businesses
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Facebook is launching a new events feature that will let page owners and event organizers create paid online events to try to fill the gap created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the social media giant announced on Friday.
But there’s one catch: the platform is going to earn those pages and businesses less on iOS, as Facebook says Apple is refusing to waive its standard App Store fees or allow the company to use its own in-app payment processing system it says would help the event organizers keep more of the money they generate.
“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 [small...