The takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk is not going as well as the billionaire had hoped. After the leak of several advertisers, Elon Musk now accuses Apple of drastically reducing its acquisition of advertising space. Worse, according to the owner of Tesla, the Apple brand would have “threatened” to remove Twitter from its application store on iPhones, the App Store. A decision that would be catastrophic for the already very battered platform.
“Apple has threatened to remove Twitter from its App Store, but they won’t tell us why,” the Twitter boss said after a series of tweets accusing the Apple brand of censorship. “Apple basically stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America? he notably launched, before challenging the leader of the Californian group in these terms: “What’s going on Tim Cook? »
“Is Apple threatening Twitter’s availability on the App Store or making content moderation requirements? asked a user of Elon Musk, who replied “yes”. Apple did not immediately respond to a request from Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America?
The tempestuous billionaire advocates a relaxation of the moderation of content on the social network, in accordance with his absolutist vision of freedom of expression. His approach is scaring many advertisers, from General Motors to Pfizer, who have suspended spending on the platform. Twitter’s revenue is 90% dependent on advertising revenue.
The fight against problematic messages (harassment, disinformation, hate speech, etc.) is also essential vis-à-vis the authorities (the European Union, for example, requires platforms to quickly remove illegal content) and operating systems mobile, i.e. iOS (Apple) and Android (Google). The two giants can ban any application that does not respect their often rather vague content rules, with “catastrophic” consequences for the said application, explained ten days ago Yoel Roth, the former chief security officer of Twitter . “Apple and Google have tremendous power over the decisions Twitter makes,” he summed up in an op-ed published by The New York Times.
Elon Musk, who has fired more than half of Twitter’s staff, is already facing many strategic issues. That didn’t stop him from declaring “war” on Monday, Nov. 28, on Apple in a meme (parody image) depicting a car named “Elon” taking a freeway exit in the direction of “declaring war” at the instead of continuing straight to “pay 30%”. “Did you know that Apple has a secret 30% tax on everything you buy through their App Store? he asked again. Many application publishers, Epic Games (Fortnite) in the lead, are protesting against the 30% commission charged by Apple and Google on spending via their application stores.
