Facebook announced on Friday that businesses hosting paid events on the social platform will be able to keep all of their online event earnings through December 31.
Previously, small businesses holding paid events and classes on Facebook were subject to the commission Apple charges for transactions made through the App Store, which can reach up to 30%.
But Apple's App Store policies also stipulate that apps offering goods and services experienced outside of the app like a class, for example can offer other alternative payment methods besides Apple's in-app purchase system.
However, many of these businesses have gone virtual during the pandemic, meaning this rule technically wouldn't apply since the event is being experienced in the same app through which the access was purchased. Apple is giving Facebook, and other apps like ClassPass and Airbnb, until the end of the year to implement an in-app purchase system for businesses hosting online paid events through their platforms.
Facebook acknowledged that it had approached Apple about reducing its commission or enabling Facebook to use Facebook Pay to absorb the costs back in August when it announced that businesses would be able to earn money from online events hosted on Facebook.
Now, however, Facebook says it will be permitted to process paid events using Facebook Pay rather than Apple's payments system, meaning businesses will be able to avoid the 30% commission through the end of 2020.
Apple's App Store policies, particularly its commission on in-app purchases, have been a point of contention for app developers and lawmakers who argue that the rule gives Apple an unfair advantage in the industry.