Musk claims that Apple has threatened to remove Twitter from the App Store
In a series of tweets, Elon Musk said Apple threatened to remove Twitter from its app store without explaining why, and that the iPhone maker had stopped advertising on the social media platform. The billionaire CEO of Twitter and Tesla claimed that Apple was putting pressure on Twitter over content moderation requirements. Apple has not
Musk claims that Apple has threatened to remove Twitter from the App Store
In a series of tweets, Elon Musk said Apple threatened to remove Twitter from its app store without explaining why, and that the iPhone maker had stopped advertising on the social media platform.
The billionaire CEO of Twitter and Tesla claimed that Apple was putting pressure on Twitter over content moderation requirements. Apple has not confirmed the action, but it would not be unusual given that the company has routinely enforced its rules and previously removed apps such as Gab and Parler.
Apple restored Parler, which is popular among US conservatives, in 2021 after the app updated its content and moderation practises, the companies said at the time.
“Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America?,” Musk, who took Twitter private for $44 billion last month, said in a tweet.
Apple has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 28, 2022
In a subsequent tweet, he tagged Apple CEO Tim Cook’s Twitter account, asking “what’s going on here?”
Apple did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
“It wasn’t clear to me how far up the Apple food chain that idea went internally and without knowing that, it isn’t clear how seriously to take any of this,” said Randal Picker, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School.
According to ad measurement firm Pathmatics, the world’s most valuable company spent an estimated $131,600 on Twitter ads between Nov. 10 and Nov. 16, down from $220,800 between Oct. 16 and Oct. 22, the week before Musk closed the Twitter deal.
According to an internal Twitter document, Apple was the top advertiser on Twitter in the first quarter of 2022, spending $48 million and accounting for more than 4% of total revenue for the period.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report from Reuters.
‘Go to war’
The up to 30% fee Apple charges software developers for in-app purchases was among Musk’s list of grievances, with Musk posting a meme suggesting he was willing to “go to war” with Apple rather than pay the commission.
The fee has drawn criticism and lawsuits from companies such as Epic Games, the creators of ‘Fortnite,’ as well as the attention of regulators worldwide.
The commission may consider Musk’s efforts to increase subscription revenue at Twitter, in part to compensate for the exodus of advertisers due to content moderation concerns.
Since the acquisition, companies ranging from General Mills to luxury automaker Audi of America have stopped or paused advertising on Twitter, and Musk stated earlier this month that the company has seen a “massive” drop in revenue.
Ad sales generate roughly 90% of Twitter’s revenue.
The self-described free speech absolutist, whose company has reinstated several Twitter accounts, including former US President Donald Trump’s, in recent days, has blamed activist groups for pressuring advertisers.
According to Ben Bajarin, the head of consumer technologies at research firm Creative Strategies, Musk may be reading too much into a routine process Apple uses for app review.
“App review from Apple is not perfect by any means and a consistently frustrating process for developers but from what I hear it is a two-way conversation,” he said.
