Elon Musk claims Apple has actually threatened to get rid of the Twitter app

Twitter owner Elon Musk declared on Monday in a series of tweets that Apple had actually threatened to get rid of the Twitter app from the App Store as part of its app evaluation small amounts procedure.

“Apple has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why,” Musk tweeted.

In other tweets fired off on Monday early morning, he called Apple’s App Store costs a “secret 30% tax,” and ran a poll asking if “Apple should publish all censorship actions it has taken that affect its customers.” He likewise declared that Apple has actually pulled the majority of its marketing from Twitter.

Apple’s App Store is the only method to disperse software application to iPhones. If the Twitter app were pulled, the social media would lose among its primary circulation platforms, although the service is offered for the web.

In addition, Apple needs iPhone app makers to pay in between 15% and 30% of any digital items offered through their apps. Musk has actually stated among his prepare for Twitter is to raise billions of dollars from memberships, such as Twitter Blue, which is provided through the iPhone app. If it were to grow to Musk’s objectives, Apple would gather numerous countless dollars while doing so.

Apple has actually dealt with difficulties to its App Store costs and policies from business such as Spotify and Epic Games, however Musk is no complete stranger to drawing in around the world attention, and might represent Apple’s most significant obstacle to its control over iPhone app circulation up until now.

Apple decreased to comment about Musk’s tweets.

But there are indications that Apple is viewing the social media carefully to see if it breaks any App Store policies.

Representatives for unnamed app shops, that include Apple’s App Store in addition to Google Play for Android gadgets, connected to Twitter previously this month after Musk took control of and the website saw a wave of hate speech, according to a New York Times op-ed by Yoel Roth, Twitter’s previous head of trust and security.

Phil Schiller, Apple’s previous chief online marketer who supervises App Review, obviously erased his Twitter account previously this month after Musk took control of.

Phillip Shoemaker, the previous head of Apple’s app evaluation and present CEO ofIdentity com, stated Schiller’s relocate to erase his account advised him of a business making transfer to “prepare for war.” He thinks that Apple’s app evaluation department is keeping a close eye on Twitter’s material small amounts under Musk to see if more doubtful material, such as pornography, slips through.

Apple’s current relocations are “like when you remove troops from a country before you attack,” Shoemaker stated. “You’re thinking you’re going to have to pull these apps from the store.”

There are 2 main reasons Apple’s App Store may take a more detailed take a look at Twitter under its public guidelines:

• Apple requires apps with user-generated content such as Twitter to have strong content moderation systems in place. Insufficient content moderation was the reason why Apple booted Parler, a smaller Twitter competitor, in 2020. Musk has reportedly vastly downsized Twitter’s content moderation workforce.
• Apple requires apps to pay fees between 30% and 15% for digital purchases. When Epic Games put in a system to get around Apple’s cut, Apple removed it. If Twitter were to pull a similar move, it might force Apple’s hand.

There are also other reasons why Twitter might fall afoul of Apple’s rules, including its insistence that adult content not be discoverable by default. Twitter remains one of the most prominent social networks that allows adult content, opening up gray areas for App Store delays or issues.

Apple’s App Store uses employees to review each app and update that goes on the platform. The app reviewers often send short responses highlighting issues without being explicit about what apps need to do to pass, CNBC previously reported.

Musk has tweaked Apple for years, and seems to enjoy doing so. He has complained about Apple’s app store fees in the past, although the Tesla app doesn’t allow in-app purchases. He has also sparred with Apple’s purported plan to build electric cars, although Apple’s secretive project has never shipped a car.

In 2015, Musk teased Apple saying that it only hires rejected Tesla employees and that he calls Apple the “Tesla Graveyard.”

But Musk’s moves on Monday go beyond teasing and rivalry, and suggest that he may be prepared to fight a lengthy public relations battle over Apple’s rules. In one tweet, he posted a meme in which a car veers off the highway under a roadway indication using 2 options: “Pay 30%” and “Go to war.” The vehicle was selecting the latter alternative.