Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk is lashing at Apple for their Apple App Store policies and tax rules. The Tesla owner accused the company of blocking Twitter from the App Store without specifying why and added that Apple has also stopped advertising on the social media platform. Musk says Apple was pressuring Twitter over content moderation demands. Following his tweets, many of Musk’s fans and followers have started running a campaign on the platform in support of “free speech”.
Although it remains unconfirmed why Apple is allegedly threatening to “withhold” Twitter from the App Store, tweets and Musk’s comments indicate that it might stem from the social media platform’s new moderation policy to safeguard “free speech”. Apple is yet to confirm these claims; however, this is not the first time the iPhone maker threatened to remove an app from its App Store. For instance, it removed Parler — a Twitter alternative — from its App Store following the US Capitol building riots early last year. The app was restored in May 2021 after Parler updated its content and moderation practices. Similar claims are made by Lbry, which said Apple asked the company to “filter some search terms”. The company said, “Apple may make good products, but they have been opposed to free speech for some time.”
It also remains unclear why Apple stopped advertising on the platform, though Musk says the company does not want to support free speech. Reuters points out Apple spent an estimated $131,600 on Twitter ads between November 10 to 16, down from $220,800 between October 16 to 22, the week before Musk closed the Twitter deal. The report adds that the iPhone maker was the top advertiser on Twitter in the first quarter of 2022.
Musk is also unhappy with Apple and Google charging a 30 per cent fee on in-app purchases. Twitter plans to roll out Twitter Blue worldwide for $8. That means for all subscribers the company would take a 30 per cent cut. “Did you know Apple puts a secret 30% tax on everything you buy through their App Store,” Musk said.