Elon Musk declares war on Apple for removing advertising on Twitter: his message to Tim Cook

the billionaire Elon Musk asked the Apple CEO for an explanation, Tim Cookbecause he assures that the Apple company “has stopped almost all advertising on Twitter”, in a series of tweets asking whether Apple “hates the right to free speech” in the United States.

The tycoon and owner of Twitter has launched a message campaign for Apple on his account in which he assures it “Apple has threatened to block Twitter from its App Store (application service of their phones) and does not give us the reasons”.

Still unanswered by Tim Cook, he continues with another message accusing Apple of “levy a secret 30% tax on everything you buy through its App Store“, and implies that he is not going to pay it with a “meme”: on a highway there is a two-lane fork: pay 30% or go to war, and you see a car named Elon who chooses to go to the war.

In another tweet, he writes that “Apple should publish all the censorship measures it has taken that affect its users”, and also opens one of its famous polls for users to decide whether Apple should make them public. “acts of censure”a survey to which more than half a million users answered in less than an hour (mostly with a “yes”).

Currently, the Twitter application works with apparent normality on Apple iPhones.

If confirmed by Apple, the withdrawal of advertising will mean a new blow for Twitter, which since the landing of Musk it has lost a good part of its advertising revenue: According to public radio network NPR, the bird network has already lost half of its top advertisers, who spent $750 million on the network this year alone.

After the withdrawal of advertisers, sometimes public and sometimes discreet, there is concern from companies when they see the uncertain course that Twitter is taking in relation to content, and which is manifested in controversial decisions such as the Donald Trump account recoverysuspended after the assault on the Capitol.

Elon Musk is often referred to as “an absolutist of free speech” And for this against excessive content controlbut since his arrival this has translated into an increased online presence of hate speech, reportedly.

Elon Musk threatens to make his own phone

The tweeter boss doesn’t rule out create your mobile. The manager will consider this option if finally Apple (iphone) and Google (Android) decide to remove the Twitter app from their devices. Both companies do not allow apps in their stores that tolerate hate speech, discrimination, intimidation or harassment. And Musk has yet to decide where to set the bar on the microblogging platform.

Liz Wheeler, a conservative commentator and presenter, was the one who promoted the debate last Friday. “If Apple and Google remove Twitter from their app stores, Elon Musk is expected to produce his own smartphone. Half the country would happily abandon the biased and nosy iPhone and Android. Man builds rockets to Mars, a stupid smartphone should be easy right?” he tweeted.

It didn’t take long for the tycoon to pick up the glove. “Of course I hope it doesn’t come to this, but yes, if there is no other option, I will make an alternative phone”also assured the founder of Tesla.

With information from agencies.

SL