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San Francisco (AFP)
Facebook joined the battle against Apple on Friday started by the creators of the video game Fortnite, who launched a crusade for the iPhone firm to renounce charging a large commission to the applications that are distributed through its store.
Facebook said Apple refused to waive its commission on online events on the social network that allow people to earn money during the coronavirus pandemic.
On Thursday, the publisher of the hit Fortnite video game, Epic Games, accused Apple of abusing its monopoly position in its online store.
Facebook said it would not charge for online events that educators, artists or other users organize, through a new platform feature, but that Apple refused to stop charging its commission.
“We asked Apple to reduce its App Store tax of 30% or to allow us to offer Facebook Pay so that we could absorb all the costs for businesses struggling during covid-19,” said Facebook Vice President Fidji Simo, in a blog post.
“Unfortunately, they rejected our applications and (small and medium-sized businesses) will only receive 70% of their hard-earned revenue.”
The new paid events feature was launched by Facebook in response to the global novel coronavirus pandemic, which forced many in-person meetings to be canceled.
The feature allows you to use Facebook’s live streaming service to create, promote, and organize paid events, from concerts and theater performances to yoga classes.
It is also being tested for use with “more personal meetings,” in Messenger’s group video chat function rooms, according to Sismo.
Apple defends charging a 30% commission in its online store.
Epic Games asked a federal judge to order Apple to stop its “anti-competitive conduct.” The lawsuit says Epic is not seeking favorable treatment, but asks the court to order Apple to change its fee structure for all developers.
Apple said that Fortnite was pulled after “Epic Games made the unfortunate decision to break the App Store rules, which apply to all developers and are designed to keep the store safe for our users.”
© 2020 AFP
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