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- Facebook will start skirting Apple’s 30-per-cent transaction fee for in-app purchases through paid subgroups and a subscription service
- As part of a wider push for a paid subscription service on the free-to-use social media platform, Facebook will give creators a chance to charge fees for exclusive content
- Further to this, the system will help creators skirt a 30-per-cent transaction fee currently charge by Apple for all in-app purchases
- Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said the updated subscriptions product will help creators earn more money for their content
- Apple and Google’s service fees were flagged as a potential concern by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in August this year
Facebook will start skirting Apple’s 30-per-cent transaction fee for in-app purchases through paid subgroups and a subscription service.
The tech giant, which recently changed its name to Meta, said this week it would begin testing ways to help creators make money through Facebook Groups.
The testing will see creators given a chance to charge fees for exclusive access to content or communication within subgroups on the platform. Group administrators will also be able to sell merchandise and organise fundraisers through their groups.
It’s part of a wider push for a paid subscription service on the free-to-use social media platform.
More than this, however, the new service will allow creators to share custom links and accept payments directly — meaning they avoid a current 30-per-cent transaction fee charged by Apple for all in-app purchases.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said the updated subscriptions product will help creators earn more.
“As we build for the metaverse, we’re focused on unlocking opportunities for creators to make money from their work. The 30 per cent fees that Apple takes on transactions make it harder to do that,” Mr Zuckerberg said.
“We’re launching a promotional link for creators for their subscriptions offering. When people subscribe using this link, creators will keep all the money they earn (minus taxes).”
He added that the new service would help creators have more ownership over their audience.
Facebook said back in June it would not take a cut of any subscription fees from creators through til 2023.
On top of this, creators will also be paid for each new subscriber they get as part of a billion-dollar creator investment scheme announced by Facebook earlier this year.
Big tech platform fees
The heavy platform fees charged by Apple and Google have been contentious issues for creators and regulators for several years but crescendoed over the past year after Epic Games launched legal action against the tech giants in August 2020.
In September this year, a US District Judge ruled that Apple and Google could continue to charge their fees but could no longer ban developers from directing users to other platforms for direct purchases through buttons and external links.
Apple described the decision as a “huge win”, but the loosened rules about what developers can get away with mean service’s like Facebook’s new subgroup subscription plan can operate fee-free on Apple products.
Apple and Google’s service fees were flagged as a potential concern by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in August this year when the watchdog spoke about increasing regulation around the big tech companies.
