Elon Musk claimed on Monday that Apple “threatened” to remove Twitter from the iOS app store.
“Apple (AAPL) is also threatening to pull Twitter from the App Store, but they won’t tell me why,” Musk said in several tweets calling Apple (AAPL) and its CEO on Monday. In one of them, he spoke about a measure he suspected undermined the possibility that Twitter was a target.
In another tweet, Musk claimed that Apple had almost stopped advertising on Twitter. “I hate free speech in America,” he said, apparently referring to his oft-expressed desire to reinforce his idea of free speech on platforms. Tim cook?” Musk added in a followinguptweet. He also criticized Apple’s scale, claiming it engages in “censorship” and pointing to the 30% transaction fee Apple charges large app developers to list on the App Store.
Tweetstorm highlights the tenuous relationship between Musk and Apple, which acts as a major mobile application gatekeeper alongside Google. Tesla CEO says he considered selling the company to his Apple long before the Twitter acquisition, when the automaker was in trouble, but Cook declined to elaborate. up a date with him. A takedown of Apple’s App Store or Google’s App Store would hurt Twitter’s business.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Musk’s tweet. The company has previously indicated its intention to remove apps from the App Store due to concerns about its ability to moderate harmful content or whether it is trying to avoid Apple’s cutbacks in receiving in-app purchases and subscriptions.
In January 2021, Apple removed Parler, an app popular with conservatives including some members of the far right, from the United States Capitol, citing concerns about the platform’s ability to detect hate speech and moderate incitement. It was removed from the app store after being attacked. Parler is back on Apple’s App Store three months after updating its content management procedures.
In the official App Store review guidelines, Apple lists several security parameters that an app must meet to be accepted into the store. Hate speech, pornography, terrorism. “The App Store is not the place for your app if you want to shock and offend people,” the guidelines say.