Elon Musk, the new owner of the social media platform Twitter, has claimed in a series of tweets on Monday that the iPhone maker Apple had threatened to pull out the Twitter app from its App Store because of its process of app review moderation.
“Apple has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why,” Musk tweeted.
In a few other tweets made by Musk on Monday, the billionaire entrepreneur referred to Apple's App Store fees as being a "secret 30% tax" and asked if "Apple should publish all censorship actions it has taken that affect its customers."
Apple has stopped using Twitter for advertising, he also claimed in the tweets.
Placing them in Apple's App Store is the only way any software can be distributed and downloaded onto an iPhone.
If Apple decides to remove the Twitter app from the App Store, the social network platform will stand to lose one of its primary distribution platforms, despite the fact that the service will still be available on the web.
Elon Musk has stated that his company, SpaceX, will be unable to fund the Starlink service in Ukraine "indefinitely."
Furthermore, Apple requires iPhone app developers to pay 15% to 30% of any digital goods sold through their apps.
Musk has stated that one of his plans for Twitter is to generate billions of dollars through subscriptions such as Twitter Blue, which is available via the iPhone app. Apple would make hundreds of millions of dollars if it reached Musk's growth targets.
Its policies and fees that Apple implements on its App Store had previously been challenged by companies such as Spotify and Epic Games. At the same time however, Musk is known to an expert at attracting global attention. However, Musk could also turn out to be the most significant challenge till date for Apple wiht respect to its control over iPhone app distribution. .
There was no comment available from Apple regarding Musk’s tweets.
However, there are indications that Apple is closely monitoring the social network to see if it violates any App Store policies.
According to a New York Times op-ed by Yoel Roth, Twitter's former head of trust and safety, representatives from unnamed app stores, including Apple's App Store and Google Play for Android devices, reached out to Twitter earlier this month after Musk took over and the site saw a wave of hate speech.
Phil Schiller, Apple's former chief marketing officer in charge of App Review, reportedly deleted his Twitter account shortly after Musk took over.
Schiller's decision to delete his account was compared to a company preparing for war by Phillip Shoemaker, the former head of Apple's app review and current CEO of Identity.com. He believes that Apple's app review department is closely monitoring Twitter's content moderation under Musk to see if more questionable content, such as porn, slips through.
Shoemaker compared Apple's recent moves to "removing troops from a country before attacking." "You're thinking you'll have to remove these apps from the store."
There are two main reasons why Apple's App Store may scrutinize Twitter under its public guidelines:
Apple requires user-generated content apps like Twitter to have robust content moderation systems in place. Apple fired Parler, a smaller Twitter competitor, in 2020 due to insufficient content moderation. Musk is said to have drastically reduced Twitter's content moderation workforce.
Apple requires apps to pay digital purchase fees ranging from 30% to 15%. When Epic Games implemented a system to circumvent Apple's cut, Apple removed it. If Twitter makes a similar move, it may force Apple's hand.
Other reasons why Twitter might violate Apple's rules include the company's insistence that adult content not be discoverable by default. Twitter is still one of the most popular social networks that allow adult content, creating gray areas for App Store delays or issues.
Employees at Apple's App Store review each app and update that is added to the platform. According to CNBC, app reviewers frequently send short responses highlighting issues without being explicit about what apps must do to pass.
Musk has been tinkering with Apple for years and appears to enjoy it. He has previously complained about Apple's app store fees, despite the fact that the Tesla app does not support in-app purchases. He has also criticized Apple's alleged plan to build electric cars, despite the fact that Apple's secretive project has never shipped a car.
Musk teased Apple in 2015, saying that it only hires rejected Tesla employees and that he refers to Apple as the "Tesla Graveyard."
But Musk's actions on Monday go beyond teasing and rivalry, implying that he is willing to fight a long public relations battle over Apple's rules. In one tweet, he shared a meme in which a car deviates from the highway under a road sign that offers two options: "Pay 30%" or "Go to war." The car was opting for the latter.
(Source:www.washingtonpost.com)
“Apple has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why,” Musk tweeted.
In a few other tweets made by Musk on Monday, the billionaire entrepreneur referred to Apple's App Store fees as being a "secret 30% tax" and asked if "Apple should publish all censorship actions it has taken that affect its customers."
Apple has stopped using Twitter for advertising, he also claimed in the tweets.
Placing them in Apple's App Store is the only way any software can be distributed and downloaded onto an iPhone.
If Apple decides to remove the Twitter app from the App Store, the social network platform will stand to lose one of its primary distribution platforms, despite the fact that the service will still be available on the web.
Elon Musk has stated that his company, SpaceX, will be unable to fund the Starlink service in Ukraine "indefinitely."
Furthermore, Apple requires iPhone app developers to pay 15% to 30% of any digital goods sold through their apps.
Musk has stated that one of his plans for Twitter is to generate billions of dollars through subscriptions such as Twitter Blue, which is available via the iPhone app. Apple would make hundreds of millions of dollars if it reached Musk's growth targets.
Its policies and fees that Apple implements on its App Store had previously been challenged by companies such as Spotify and Epic Games. At the same time however, Musk is known to an expert at attracting global attention. However, Musk could also turn out to be the most significant challenge till date for Apple wiht respect to its control over iPhone app distribution. .
There was no comment available from Apple regarding Musk’s tweets.
However, there are indications that Apple is closely monitoring the social network to see if it violates any App Store policies.
According to a New York Times op-ed by Yoel Roth, Twitter's former head of trust and safety, representatives from unnamed app stores, including Apple's App Store and Google Play for Android devices, reached out to Twitter earlier this month after Musk took over and the site saw a wave of hate speech.
Phil Schiller, Apple's former chief marketing officer in charge of App Review, reportedly deleted his Twitter account shortly after Musk took over.
Schiller's decision to delete his account was compared to a company preparing for war by Phillip Shoemaker, the former head of Apple's app review and current CEO of Identity.com. He believes that Apple's app review department is closely monitoring Twitter's content moderation under Musk to see if more questionable content, such as porn, slips through.
Shoemaker compared Apple's recent moves to "removing troops from a country before attacking." "You're thinking you'll have to remove these apps from the store."
There are two main reasons why Apple's App Store may scrutinize Twitter under its public guidelines:
Apple requires user-generated content apps like Twitter to have robust content moderation systems in place. Apple fired Parler, a smaller Twitter competitor, in 2020 due to insufficient content moderation. Musk is said to have drastically reduced Twitter's content moderation workforce.
Apple requires apps to pay digital purchase fees ranging from 30% to 15%. When Epic Games implemented a system to circumvent Apple's cut, Apple removed it. If Twitter makes a similar move, it may force Apple's hand.
Other reasons why Twitter might violate Apple's rules include the company's insistence that adult content not be discoverable by default. Twitter is still one of the most popular social networks that allow adult content, creating gray areas for App Store delays or issues.
Employees at Apple's App Store review each app and update that is added to the platform. According to CNBC, app reviewers frequently send short responses highlighting issues without being explicit about what apps must do to pass.
Musk has been tinkering with Apple for years and appears to enjoy it. He has previously complained about Apple's app store fees, despite the fact that the Tesla app does not support in-app purchases. He has also criticized Apple's alleged plan to build electric cars, despite the fact that Apple's secretive project has never shipped a car.
Musk teased Apple in 2015, saying that it only hires rejected Tesla employees and that he refers to Apple as the "Tesla Graveyard."
But Musk's actions on Monday go beyond teasing and rivalry, implying that he is willing to fight a long public relations battle over Apple's rules. In one tweet, he shared a meme in which a car deviates from the highway under a road sign that offers two options: "Pay 30%" or "Go to war." The car was opting for the latter.
(Source:www.washingtonpost.com)