Key Highlights
- Apple’s 30% charge for Facebook and Insta Ads in the US is now expanded globally.
- Meta strongly criticizes the move and suggests steps to avoid the charges.
- The European Union (EU) Commission has submitted a preliminary report that suggests that Apple is violating fair competition regulations.
Scrolling through your iPhone to publish your next Meta Ad? Well, here’s some bad news for you: you will have to pay an extra 30% fee to Apple from July onwards.
Initially in the February, the 30% fee system was implemented in the US only. Now, the policy is expanded globally, marking a severe change in the budget schematics of Meta Ads.
What is Meta’s Take?
Meta strongly criticizes the move as ‘anti-competitive’, advocating that it could take a hit on fair pricing standards. The company claims that such fees could hurt small businesses by making the advertisement process expensive. Here’s what Pedro Pavón, the Director of Privacy & Fairness Policy of Meta said:
“The 30% Apple tax gives them an unfair advantage over competitors, making it harder for them to compete on pricing. None of this strikes me as a good outcome for users or fair dealing with competitors. And I’m not the only one who thinks so.”
Criticisms Against Apple
As Pedro said, it’s not just Meta that opens up against the aggressive tactics of Apple. The change in policy which was introduced in 2022, ramped up issues between giants in Silicon Valley. Many companies like Spotify and Amazon Kindle have removed the permissions of in-app purchases to avoid the fee.
The European Union (EU) Commission has submitted their preliminary report which suggests that Apple is violating fair competition regulations. In case the findings are confirmed, the Commission would adopt a non-compliance decision within March 2025, which would most probably result in a severe penalty.
“Apple’s new slogan should be ‘act different’. Today we take further steps to ensure Apple complies with the DMA rules”, said Thierry Breton, the Commissioner for Internal Market.
Apple’s Stance
In fact, Apple can escape the charges by offering simple remedies to the pressing concerns in the findings by November, before Commission Chief Margrethe Vestager wraps up the report. Well earlier, they did the same to escape the charges from Epic Games. However, now the iPhone-maker company does not even budge.
Apple states from the very beginning that the 30% fee covers the cost of running the store and it is a standard rate as compared to others like Google Play, Steam, etc., that charge similar fees. On top of that, they claim that the extra fee would help in setting up a secure platform that can prevent fraud.
How to Avoid Extra Charges?
Luckily, Facebook officially has suggested some steps to evade the Apple service fee. Check out them:
- Promote content directly from Facebook through the desktop or any mobile browser.
- Add funds to the ad account from settings.
- Download the Meta Business Suite app to boost without the extra fee.
- Download the Ads Manager app or visit the website through the computer.
Bottom Line
The stakes in Silicon Valley is high as the ad budget of the entire industry is put on line through Apple’s policies. As the EU Commission comes face-to-face against the strategic move, many events are expected to boil up in the coming months.
