During a company-wide meeting on Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg called Apple’s App Store as monopolistic and harmful to customers saying it charges “monopoly rents.” He also said the Cupertino firm “blocks innovation, blocks competition,”
BuzzFeed News shared Zuckerberg’s comments, which were shared with 50,000 Facebook employees during a webcast.
“[Apple has] this unique stranglehold as a gatekeeper on what gets on phones,” Zuckerberg said to more than 50,000 employees via webcast. He added that the Cupertino, California–based company’s app store “blocks innovation, blocks competition” and “allows Apple to charge monopoly rents.”
Zuckerberg and Facebook have been ticked off at Apple’s App Store regulations after the company blocked Facebook’s gaming app form entering the App Store in August, as Apple does not allow apps that offer alternative stores containing content that it cannot vet. While Facebook did eventually launch the app in the App Store, it is limited to being used to watch streams of people playing games, ala Twitch.
Zuckerberg also weighed in on Apple’s battle with Epic Games, saying Apple’s attempt to block the Unreal Engine was “just an extremely aggressive move” that was “quite problematic.”
Facebook also came out against Apple earlier this month when the iPhone maker refused to waive its 30% cut of the action for Facebook’s paid Online Events feature. The feature is designed to allow small businesses and individuals to create paid digital events that Facebook users can sign up for.
In response, Facebook tried to add a note in the Online Events feature saying that “Apple takes 30% of this purchase.” Apple blocked Facebook from including the wording in the Facebook app, saying it violated an App Store rule preventing developers from displaying irrelevant information to users.
Zuckerberg is also irritated with the anti-ad tracking feature Apple is including in iOS 14. Facebook says the new feature, which requires customers to agree to be tracked across apps and websites, could cut the Audience Network Ad revenue companies earn through Facebook by as much as 50%.
