0
0
Meta (Facebook, Instagram) will collect 47 percent of the sales price of virtual objects that content developers sell on its virtual reality platform Horizon Worlds.
Meta had already announced on Monday that content providers would be allowed to sell clothing and other virtual accessories to users of its platform in the metaverse, the set of parallel universes that are considered the future of the internet.
On Wednesday, it was announced that Oculus, a VR headset provider owned by Meta, and the platform would each collect a commission on sales. So, for example, if a maker sells an item for $1, the commission from the Meta Quest Store will be $0.30, and that from the Horizon platform will be $0.17, leaving the maker with $0.53 for any taxes explained a spokesperson for Meta.
Several observers took to Twitter to express their dissatisfaction with this income distribution. “An irresponsible player builds a new platform and abuses his monopoly to make a profit from it,” tweeted Accountable Tech, an NGO fighting for better regulation of social media.
The amount of the commissions is especially frowned upon in light of the battle between Meta and Apple. Facebook and other companies accuse the iPhone manufacturer of taking a commission on the App Store, too large. Apple takes 30 percent of app sales.
