Yesterday saw a volley of tweets from Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk who lashed out at Apple for their Apple App Store policies and tax rules. The new owner has accused Apple of blocking Twitter (the microblogging site) from the App Store without giving any reason. He claimed that Apple has stopped advertising on Twitter and was pressuring Twitter over content moderation demands. Following, his tweets, many came out in support and started a campaign to support ‘free speech’.
Although it is still not clear as to why Apple is withholding Twitter from App Store, Musk’s tweets indicate that it could be due to Twitter’s new policy to safeguard ‘free speech’. Apple is yet to confirm any of Elon Musk’s claims but they can very much be true, as the iPhone maker has threatened to remove Twitter in the past as well. Apple removed Parler, a Twitter alternative from its store after the US Capitol building riots early last year. The app was restored in May 2021 after Parler updated its moderation practices. Another app Lbry has also made such claims with regard to Apple. The common notion is that Apple does make good products, but they have been against free speech for years now.
Apple has also suddenly stopped advertising on Twitter. It spent about $131,600 on Twitter ads between November 10 to 16, down from $220,800 between October 16 to 22, the week before Musk’s Twitter deal was closed. Apple was the top advertiser on Twitter in Q1 2022. Not only these two but there is a 3rd issue as well that has left Elon Musk concerned. He is unhappy about Apple and Google charging a 30% fee on in-app purchases. This is because Twitter plans to roll out Twitter Blue worldwide for 8 dollars and that means for all who subscribe the company would take a 30% cut. Musk also criticized Apple for secretly putting a 30% tax on everything you buy through their app store.
