Elon Musk taunts Tim Cook and endorses chorus against Apple’s hegemony

“What’s going on here, @tim_cook?”, Elon Musk tweeted on Monday (28) to Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, starting a fight between the richest man in the world and the most valuable company in the world.

In a series of tweets lasting more than 15 minutes, Musk, the new owner of Twitter, accused Apple of threatening to remove the application from its App Store, a measure that would prevent new users from downloading the social networking program. The action would amount to censorship, Musk said, without any explanation from Apple as to why Twitter would be blocked. He added that Apple has also reduced its advertising spend on Twitter.

“Apple pretty much stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America?” Musk wrote on Monday.

With his tweets, Musk set the stage for a power struggle with Cook, who wields enormous influence over other tech companies due to Apple’s dominance. Musk has a special interest now in Apple’s clout as the owner of Twitter, which he bought last month for $44 billion. Twitter is powered by Apple’s App Store and is used by iPhone and iPad owners worldwide. In a tweet, Musk hinted that he was ready for a “war” with Apple.

Musk has been primed to take on Apple since taking over Twitter. Its business plan is based on shifting its main revenue from advertising sales to a greater reliance on subscriptions. But any new subscription revenue will be subject to Apple’s practice of charging up to 30% commission.

Musk’s complaints also come at a crucial time for Apple. There is a movement in Congress in the last months of the year to pass a series of antitrust laws. Among the bills under consideration is the Open App Markets Act, which seeks to give developers greater control over their software and allow them to avoid fees charged by Apple and Google.

“Elon is the latest chapter in an effort to reduce App Store fees, and it will resurrect an issue that has been fairly quiet for the past six months,” said Gene Munster, managing partner at technology research firm Loup Ventures. He said he envisions a future where App Store fees would be reduced to around 20%.

Musk and an Apple spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.

Apple has increasingly faced backlash from app developers, as well as pressure from regulators and politicians around the world, over its App Store policies. The store has become a privileged portal where billions of iPhone users download Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, games and all kinds of programs, becoming an arbiter of software distribution.

Apple uses the fees it collects from the App Store, which was created in 2008, to pay a team of several hundred people who review each app it distributes. The company said its app reviewers protect customers’ privacy and security, as well as preventing them from falling victim to fraud.

Among the things reviewers weigh is the use of Apple’s in-app payments system, which has helped the company collect an estimated $22 billion in annual fees from developers, according to market research firm Sensor Tower.

In 2020, Epic, makers of the video game Fortnite, sued Apple for anti-competitive behavior on the App Store. Last year, the judge in the case ruled mostly in Apple’s favor, finding that the company protected customers’ privacy and security. But the judge also issued a ruling that would require Apple to allow developers to link customers to their own payment systems. Both Epic and Apple are appealing the case.

On Monday, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney lent his support to Musk on Twitter. Sweeney pointed out that Apple kicked Epic out of the App Store when it, too, defied the tech giant’s policies. He questioned whether Apple would eliminate any developers who complained about it, a list that now includes Facebook, Spotify and Twitter.

“Apple blocked Fortnite within hours of Epic challenging its policy,” tweeted Sweeney. “Would they destroy Twitter? Spotify? Facebook? Netflix? At what point does the whole rotten structure collapse?”

Apple pissed off app developers for other reasons. Last year, it made a series of technological changes to increase people’s privacy in mobile applications. Those changes have made it harder for many apps to target mobile advertising to users, prompting tech executives like Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, to speak out.

Apple also required companies to create a “secure experience” for their apps to be listed in the App Store. After the January 6 riot at the US Capitol last year, Apple blocked “free speech” social network Parler from appearing on the App Store until the service adopted protective filters to avoid calls to violence.

“In my time at Twitter, app store representatives have consistently raised concerns about the content available on our platform,” Yoel Roth, Twitter’s former head of trust and security, wrote in an op-ed in The New York Times this month. Roth said App Store reviewers have raised concerns about pornography and racial slurs on Twitter.

Musk’s purchase of Twitter has shaken the relative harmony between him and Apple. As an outspoken user of the platform with nearly 120 million followers, Musk often uses Twitter to taunt business rivals such as Bill Gates or Sam Bankman-Fried. His fight with Cook could become “a revolution against online censorship in the US,” Musk tweeted on Monday.

Last week, Musk also considered building his own phone if Apple and Google kick Twitter out of their app stores. “I certainly hope it doesn’t come to that, but yes, if there is no other choice I will make an alternate phone,” he tweeted.

Apple urged Musk to preserve the status quo. In an interview with “CBS Mornings” this month, Cook was asked if there was a risk of Twitter being removed from the App Store. He said Twitter will continue to distribute it and praised its commitment to moderating abusive content.

“I don’t think anyone wants hate speech on their platform, so I’m trusting that they will continue to do that,” Cook said.

Phil Schiller, a former Apple executive who helps oversee the App Store, recently deleted his Twitter account when Musk reinstated former President Donald Trump on the platform. Cook continues to use Twitter, as he did last week when he wished his followers a happy Thanksgiving.

Musk’s attacks on Apple’s leadership could create challenges for the tech giant “in Congress, where Big Tech is still a target,” said Munster of Loup Ventures. Republicans in Congress have embraced Musk’s purchase of Twitter because he promised to restore free speech, a topic they often talk about. Musk resonates with this group, which is on the rise in Washington, according to Munster.

In September, Cook met with Republican congressional leaders, including Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, and discussed the importance of free speech online, two people familiar with those conversations said. Since Apple has no social networking platform, it has so far avoided being dragged into this debate.

Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves