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Facebook says Apple blocked it from informing about App Store 30% fee

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Re: Facebook says Apple blocked it from informing about App Store 30% fee

#81
All utilies (Electricity, water, phone, etc.) should ask their commercial customers a 30% cut because they build and provide an ecosystem that is mandatory for them to exist.

Going a little further and what if MasterCard and Visa requested a 30% cut to apple. They should also ban Apple from CC acquiring if they make this public.

Re: Facebook says Apple blocked it from informing about App Store 30% fee

#82
post #72
post #30

Back in the day, Apple simultaneously: * wanted a 30% cut on all Kindle book sales (sold via iOS) * had negotiated with most major book publishers that any book distributer (aka Amazon, Apple, B&N, etc) must sell their books at exactly a 30% markup. --- Also, we had built a native store experience for the Kindle app before launching it. Yet, after submitting to Apple (and not hearing anything back for weeks), Apple a…

Why we didn't hear anything about it at the time?

Amazon didn't want to blow up the relationship.

Though, Apple did eventually get taken to court for the book publisher pricing agreements:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Apple_Inc.

Re: Facebook says Apple blocked it from informing about App Store 30% fee

#83
post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or even better, allowing users to opt to install apps from other app stores.

Or even better, allowing people to buy other phones

The arguments are well-repeated by now, but your comment is analogous to saying if I buy a Ford, I can only fill it with Ford gas. It's OK to have laws that prevent and forbid that because it's not good for the people.

Re: Facebook says Apple blocked it from informing about App Store 30% fee

#84
post #56
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Abuse of power? They have guidelines every developer must follow. Give one a break, what about the rest?

Please don't post unsubstantive and/or flamewar style comments to HN. These threads are getting exceedingly repetitive. They're also getting nastier. We don't want those qualities here. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

I’m being downvoted flagged and accused of “flamewar“ for simply saying that Apple has a set of rules developers must follow and they can’t make exceptions otherwise where would it end?

Re: Facebook says Apple blocked it from informing about App Store 30% fee

#85
post #84
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please don't post unsubstantive and/or flamewar style comments to HN. These threads are getting exceedingly repetitive. They're also getting nastier. We don't want those qualities here. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

I’m being downvoted flagged and accused of “flamewar“ for simply saying that Apple has a set of rules developers must follow and they can’t make exceptions otherwise where would it end?

Actually I think I misread your comment. I thought "Give one a break" was snark, but you were talking about developers. Sorry!

Re: Facebook says Apple blocked it from informing about App Store 30% fee

#86
post #85
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m being downvoted flagged and accused of “flamewar“ for simply saying that Apple has a set of rules developers must follow and they can’t make exceptions otherwise where would it end?

Actually I think I misread your comment. I thought "Give one a break" was snark, but you were talking about developers. Sorry!

Ah I can see that now :)

Re: Facebook says Apple blocked it from informing about App Store 30% fee

#87
post #74
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a surcharge on your bill. That's when you have to pay 30% more than the main price. This is you paying the main price, but the organization you (likely) want to support is only getting 30%.

70%, Apple takes 30%.

Oops, yeah, that was a dumb mistake.

Re: Facebook says Apple blocked it from informing about App Store 30% fee

#88

A 30% cut isn’t really out of line with the markup most stores or distributors put on nearly everything you buy, nor are secret business details. I’m not trying to judge right or wrong, but hoping to point out a store taking that cut is the standard not the exception.

That isn't really the issue. The issue is that you have to use Apple's store. There's no alternative.

You don’t have to use an iPhone and your product doesn’t have to run on one. In order to prove laws have been broken you have to prove that there is a higher issue than just lack of choice on the platform, if “that isn’t really the issue” then there isn’t any issue, legally.

If you want there to be something illegal about the lack of choice itself you have to think very long and hard about how you want to correct it with legislation, which would not be an easy thing to do right.

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