Facebook critiques Apple on its commission system

(Reuters) – Facebook Inc said on Friday that Apple Inc has declined its request to waive off the 30% commission fee it takes from apps listed on iOS devices, publicly critiquing a fellow big tech peer.

Facebook said it requested an exemption so small businesses would not have to pay Apple’s cut for paid online events on the social network’s platform.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Facebook’s comments come a day after Apple removed popular video game “Fortnite” from its app store for violating the in-app payment guidelines, prompting developer Epic Games to file federal antitrust lawsuit challenging Apple’s rules.

Apple takes a cut of between 15% and 30% for most app subscriptions and payments made inside apps, though there are some exceptions for companies that already have a credit card on file for iPhone customers if they also offer an in-app payment that would benefit Apple.

(Reporting by Katie Paul in San Francisco and Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)