Apple blocked Facebook update meant to shame its 30 percent App Store revenue share

Facebook recently blamed the “Apple tax” for allegedly stopping it from helping struggling small businesses which had lost income due to the coronavirus. And now the social network has made another attempt to slam Apple over its refusal to waive its longstanding 30 percent commission on sales for its new online events feature.

In an update to the mainland Facebook app for iOS, the company included a transparency notice informing users of Apple’s 30 percent cut. The iPhone maker has however blocked Facebook’s update on grounds that it showed “irrelevant” information to users. Facebook then removed the message in order to get the update approved by the Cupertino firm.

Reuters has a statement from Facebook:

Now more than ever, we should have the option to help people understand where money they intend for small businesses actually goes. Unfortunately Apple rejected our transparency notice around their 30 percent tax but we are still working to make that information available inside the app experience.”

Apple did comment publicly, but Reuters acknowledges that Facebook said that Apple did cite an App Store rule barring developers from showing irrelevant information to users.

Facebook is taking a page from Epic’s book: as you know, the Fortnite maker similarly in an update enabled a direct payment feature that provoked Apple to remove Fortnite from the App Store, and now Epic is throwing mud at Apple on an everyday basis.