Apple was accused of hating free speech after it cut Twitter ad spending and allegedly threatened to ban it
Twitter CEO Elon Musk this week alleged that tech giant Apple is threatening to ban the microblogging app from its AppStore, which may suggest that the company was pressuring Twitter over content moderation demands. Musk, however, did not provide any further details on Apple's demands or elaborate how
Twitter CEO Elon Musk this week alleged that tech giant Apple is threatening to ban the microblogging app from its AppStore, which may suggest that the company was pressuring Twitter over content moderation demands.
Musk, however, did not provide any further details on Apple's demands or elaborate how Apple conveyed the message to Twitter, despite a flurry of tweets on the matter.
The alleged move by the trillion-dollar tech company to remove the Twitter app from its AppStore (still unconfirmed), has sparked controversy across the media and raised questions regarding Apple's stance on free speech.
Apple doesn’t support free speech.
— Ian Jaeger (@IanJaegerNPC) November 28, 2022
Apple should support free speech.
— Lex Fridman (@lexfridman) November 28, 2022
Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 28, 2022
Since @Apple hates free speech enough to remove Twitter from their store, raise your hand if you would buy a competitor phone created by @elonmusk 👋🏻
— BLAIRE WHITE (@MsBlaireWhite) November 28, 2022
If Apple suppresses free speech, I’m going to boycott Apple.
— Lavern Spicer 🇺🇸 (@lavern_spicer) November 28, 2022
Who’s with me?
Recall that in January 2021, Apple banned self described "free speech" social network, Parler from its AppStore in January 2021 and later allowed it back on in April 2021 after it made changes to its content moderation.
Musk's accusation comes as Apple has allegedly cut its Twitter ad spending.
Per a report from The Washington Post, 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.
Musk also polled users, asking whether "Apple should publish all censorship actions it has taken that affect its customers", which received about 85% of support from over 2 million respondents based on his followers on Twitter.
Apple or its representatives have yet to respond to Musk's claims – and there has been no official word from Twitter regarding these claims.
We'll bring you more details as we know more.
