What you need to know
- Facebook thinks Apple is hurting the creator economy by charging high commission rates.
- That's according to the head of its app, Fidji Simo.
- She says Facebook believes not taking a cut of paid subscriptions and online events is the right thing to do.
The head of Facebook's app Fidji Simo has told attendees at Fortune's MPW Next Gen virtual conference that companies like Apple which take a "very large revenue share" are hurting the creator economy.
From Fortune:
"We fundamentally think that other platforms that take very large revenue share are hurting that economy," she said at Fortune's MPW Next Gen virtual conference referring to Apple, which takes a cut of in-app purchases made on applications that are downloaded via its app store.
Facebook says that it will continue to let creators offer paid subscriptions and online events without any commission through 2023, it also says that when it does begin charging for the service its rate "will be much lower than the 30% that Apple takes", because it believes "that's the right thing to do for that creative economy to really rise."
Facebook and Apple have clashed publicly on numerous occasions over the last year, notably over Apple's new App Tracking Transparency feature in iOS 14, which Facebook says could decimate small businesses that rely on advertising. The 30% rate of commission on Apple's App Store and iOS, charged against digital goods and services, has also been a bone of contention. Last year, Facebook was forced to remove a passive-aggressive message within its app telling users that when they paid for goods online 30% of the money was going directly into Apple's pocket.
