Honey browser plugin controversy: Difference between revisions

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~~PayPal has largely marketed the Honey browser extension via paid advertisements inside of Youtube, TikTok, and other social media video platforms.~~ This is ~~a strong marketing avenue for them, as most people watch that content in a browser, making it easier to install (generating more users for Honey than, say, advertising on cable television~~). On its face, this is a very common practice and a means of reaching a very broad audience. But behind the scenes, Honey has been sneaking away with those same creators’ commission checks for products they recommend to their audience. There is a technical explanation to this linked below; this section will cover Honey’s practices at a fairly high level for ease of understanding.

(This is the rewording)

Affiliate marketing is a revenue-sharing model in which individuals or entities (affiliates) partner with companies to earn money for advertising goods and services. This is done through the use of personalized links to track which affiliate sent which customer to an online store. If the customer makes a purchase using an affiliate link, the affiliate whose link was used gets a commission on the sale.

Honey will sometimes disrupt this practice by replacing existing affiliate links with their own at the checkout page whenever a customer interacts with the extension in search of coupons. Even when Honey is unable to find a coupon for the customer, it will still frequently replace the affiliate link. When the customer makes their purchase, Honey takes credit for the sale and gets the commission.

~~~~

The Honey extension was largely advertised via Content Creators on YouTube as well as other social media platforms. Affiliate marketing makes up a significant portion of a Content Creator's revenue. Most of the influencers who promoted Honey were unaware of its practices and thus unknowingly promoted a browser extension that poaches their affiliate revenue. Estimates of "stolen" revenue are upwards of 5 million USD. The discovery of Honey's practices has led to a class action lawsuit launched by Wendover Productions.

~~Picture yourself in a big-box electronics store. You ask a staff member for help choosing a television and sound system.~~ The ~~staff member is knowledgeable, helpful, and puts in a genuine effort to educate you about not just which product costs the most money, but which product actually fits your needs the most appropriately~~. ~~Before you check out, the salesperson gives you~~ a ~~ticket with their name to show at the checkout counter, as they make~~ a ~~commission on products they sell you~~. ~~You’re happy because you have an opportunity to make an educated purchase thanks to~~ the ~~help~~ of ~~the salesperson,~~ and ~~the salesperson gets~~ a ~~small commission for educating you and closing the sale.~~

~~~~

~~When you get to the cash register, you find~~ that ~~the cashier is not a Big Box Store employee, but works for PayPal. The Honey representative tells you that, before you check out, they can search~~ their ~~system to see if they can find you a coupon, to save you even more money~~. ~~This sounds great! You get to make an educated purchase, knowing that your item is the best for your needs, and you~~ are ~~going to pay as little as possible! What the Honey cashier did not tell you, is that they’ve replaced the Big Box Store’s employee commission slip with PayPal’s~~. ~~Whether they find you a coupon or not,~~ Honey steals the commission from the person who worked hard to know about the product and spent time and effort to sell you that product. All of their work is made irrelevant and their commission goes to PayPal, a massive corporation who will apparently stoop to a ~~level of pettiness that belongs in a high school lunchroom~~.

* ''It is this practice in particular that has attracted legal attention, as several of Honey’s victims in this instance are/were attorneys who create content about legal controversies (such as LegalEagle and America’s Attorney). They have documented their view on the lawsuit here: https://honeylawsuit.com/''<!-- this is a very partisan source - we shouldn't be saying 'find out more' and then linking to one half of a lawsuit. Instead, try and find some media source which has a reasonable detail of reporting on the lawsuit.

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 <!-- Whole thing needs rewording to sound less like a journal piece -->
-PayPal has largely marketed the Honey browser extension via paid advertisements inside of Youtube, TikTok, and other social media video platforms. This is a strong marketing avenue for them, as most people watch that content in a browser, making it easier to install (generating more users for Honey than, say, advertising on cable television). On its face, this is a very common practice and a means of reaching a very broad audience. But behind the scenes, Honey has been sneaking away with those same creators’ commission checks for products they recommend to their audience. There is a technical explanation to this linked below; this section will cover Honey’s practices at a fairly high level for ease of understanding.
+(This is the rewording)
+Affiliate marketing is a revenue-sharing model in which individuals or entities (affiliates) partner with companies to earn money for advertising goods and services. This is done through the use of personalized links to track which affiliate sent which customer to an online store. If the customer makes a purchase using an affiliate link, the affiliate whose link was used gets a commission on the sale.
+Honey will sometimes disrupt this practice by replacing existing affiliate links with their own at the checkout page whenever a customer interacts with the extension in search of coupons. Even when Honey is unable to find a coupon for the customer, it will still frequently replace the affiliate link. When the customer makes their purchase, Honey takes credit for the sale and gets the commission.
-<!-- Needs changing/rewording to be understood without describing a electronics store -->
+The Honey extension was largely advertised via Content Creators on YouTube as well as other social media platforms. Affiliate marketing makes up a significant portion of a Content Creator's revenue. Most of the influencers who promoted Honey were unaware of its practices and thus unknowingly promoted a browser extension that poaches their affiliate revenue. Estimates of "stolen" revenue are upwards of 5 million USD. The discovery of Honey's practices has led to a class action lawsuit launched by Wendover Productions.
-Picture yourself in a big-box electronics store. You ask a staff member for help choosing a television and sound system. The staff member is knowledgeable, helpful, and puts in a genuine effort to educate you about not just which product costs the most money, but which product actually fits your needs the most appropriately. Before you check out, the salesperson gives you a ticket with their name to show at the checkout counter, as they make a commission on products they sell you. You’re happy because you have an opportunity to make an educated purchase thanks to the help of the salesperson, and the salesperson gets a small commission for educating you and closing the sale.
-<!--Needs changing/rewording to be understood without describing a electronics store  -->
-When you get to the cash register, you find that the cashier is not a Big Box Store employee, but works for PayPal. The Honey representative tells you that, before you check out, they can search their system to see if they can find you a coupon, to save you even more money. This sounds great! You get to make an educated purchase, knowing that your item is the best for your needs, and you are going to pay as little as possible! What the Honey cashier did not tell you, is that they’ve replaced the Big Box Store’s employee commission slip with PayPal’s. Whether they find you a coupon or not, Honey steals the commission from the person who worked hard to know about the product and spent time and effort to sell you that product. All of their work is made irrelevant and their commission goes to PayPal, a massive corporation who will apparently stoop to a level of pettiness that belongs in a high school lunchroom.
 * ''It is this practice in particular that has attracted legal attention, as several of Honey’s victims in this instance are/were attorneys who create content about legal controversies (such as LegalEagle and America’s Attorney). They have documented their view on the lawsuit here: https://honeylawsuit.com/''<!-- this is a very partisan source - we shouldn't be saying 'find out more' and then linking to one half of a lawsuit. Instead, try and find some media source which has a reasonable detail of reporting on the lawsuit.