7 NEWSFEED Updates & Upgrades
Facebook is attempting to build a Patreon-style crowdfunding service, called Fan Subscriptions, to allow people to pay a monthly subscription fee for exclusive access to creator content. But all is not what it seems: the service drives a hard bargain for the creators. Fan Subscriptions began an initial testing phase last month, where it opened its virtual doors to ten creators across the UK and US. It is now inviting more creators to join the service, offering them the ability to set up a subscription for their fans with a monthly price of their choosing. Facebook claims creators will get to keep 100% of their earnings, minus relevant fees, until the test period ends. However, a document obtained by TechCrunch outlining the terms of service revealed Facebook could take up to 30% of a creator’s subscription revenue. This cut, while typical of an app in Apple’s or Google’s app stores, is mammoth for a creator-focused platform, especially considering Patreon takes just 5% of its user’s pledges. Furthermore, the
terms of service allow Facebook to unilaterally offer discounted or free trials for fans from time to time at its discretion, with those discounts/ freebies impacting creators’ bottom lines. The terms of service also give Facebook a lifetime licence to use a creator’s work, stating: ‘if you are providing any data, content or other information in connection with your use of Fan Subscriptions, then you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty- free, worldwide license to use such Supplemental Data. This license survives even if you stop using Fan Subscriptions.’ While most similar
services request licence to use a creator’s work, it’s typically for promotional purposes and expires when the service is no longer in use. The move follows changes made to the Facebook News Feed algorithm last year. Satirical website The Hard Times was among those affected and the founder, Matt Saincome, received an invitation to use Fan Subscriptions. He commented on the unusual terms on Twitter: “I asked my editors about it and the complete distrust among our team was funny.” He added: “Here’s a crazy alternative: let people who signed up to see our content see it and then we can monetise that.”
TIKTOK HIT WITH FINE OVER CHILD PRIVACY ALLEGATIONS The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a $5.7 million settlement with Musical.ly, now known as TikTok, over allegations it illegally collected the names, email addresses, pictures and locations of children. According to the FTC, it is the largest penalty obtained by the agency for a child privacy case. The agency also noted that users’ profiles are public by default and cited reports of adults trying to contact
children through the app. A profile can be made private in settings, but a private profile still displays the bio and image, and other users can still direct message. Until October 2016, the app also included a feature that allowed users to view other users within a 50-mile radius. In response, TikTok has created a separate app experience for users under 13. The company claims the new app will not permit the sharing of personal information and puts limits on what content can be posted and shared.
Musical.ly merged with TikTok after it was bought by ByteDance in 2017. The app lets users create 15-second videos, including lip-synching and dancing clips set to music, and share them with others. The FTC found that Musical.ly/TikTok violated the Federal Children’s Online Privacy Act (COPPA), which requires
online services aimed at children to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information about users under 13. Its investigation also revealed that, when asked by parents to remove data about their children, Musical.ly/TikTok deleted the profiles, but retained videos and data about them on its servers.
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