In a series of tweets on Monday, Elon Musk said that Apple Inc (AAPL.O) had threatened to ban Twitter Inc from its app store without providing any explanation.
He also claimed that the iPhone manufacturer had ceased running advertisements on the social networking site.
The wealthy CEO of Twitter and Tesla claimed Apple was putting pressure on Twitter regarding requirements for content control.
Apple has not confirmed the action, but it would not be out of the ordinary given that it regularly enforces its policies and has already deleted apps like Parler and Gab.
Apple reinstated Parler in 2021 after the app updated its content and moderation procedures, the companies said at the time. Parler is a favorite among American conservatives.
“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.
He later tagged Apple Chief Executive Officer, Tim Cook’s Twitter account in another tweet, asking “what’s going on here?”
Apple did not immediately respond 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 company Pathmatics, the most valuable company in the world spent less on Twitter advertisements between Nov. 10 and Nov. 16 than it did in the week before Musk signed the Twitter transaction, when it spent $220,800 between Oct. 16 and Oct. 22.
According to the Washington Post, which cited an internal Twitter document, Apple was the biggest advertiser on Twitter in the first quarter of 2022, spending $48 million and contributing to more than 4% of overall revenue during that time.
Companies like Epic Games, the developer of “Fortnite,” have criticized and sued the fee, and it has garnered the attention of regulators throughout the world.
Musk’s efforts to increase Twitter’s subscription fees, in part to offset advertisers’ flight due to concerns over content moderation, may be hindered by the commission.
Since the acquisition, businesses ranging from General Mills Inc (GIS.N) to luxury carmaker Audi of America have discontinued or suspended their Twitter advertising, and Musk claimed earlier this month that the company had experienced a “massive” decline in revenue.
About 90% of Twitter’s revenue comes from ad sales.
The self-described “absolutist” of free expression, whose business has restored multiple Twitter accounts, including that of former US President Donald Trump, has accused activist groups of exerting pressure on advertising.
Ben Bajarin, the director of consumer technology at the research firm Creative Strategies, suggested that Musk might be interpreting Apple’s app review procedure too broadly.
According to what he heard, it is a two-way interaction. “App approval from Apple is not flawless by any means and a continually frustrating process for developers,” he said.