In an unprecedented tirade, Elon Musk accuses Apple of putting pressure on Twitter content to be more moderated again. Now he rows back and speaks of a “misunderstanding”. However, something else may have been more decisive for the truce.
Twitter boss Elon Musk seems to have calmed down after his verbal attacks on the iPhone manufacturer Apple. Musk tweeted that he had a “good conversation” with Apple CEO Tim Cook. Among other things, the two had “clarified the misunderstanding” about an allegedly threatened removal of the Twitter app from Apple’s App Store. Cook made it clear that his group never considered this. Apple has not yet commented on the matter.
Musk had previously attacked Apple sharply. In a series of tweets on Monday, he questioned whether Apple hated free speech in America, since the company largely stopped advertising on Twitter after selling it to him. He later claimed that Apple threatened to kick Twitter out of the App Store without giving any reason. Musk also complained about an allegedly “secret” fee to Apple for purchases in the App Store – meaning a well-known revenue share of up to 30 percent.
Twitter is currently trying to restore users’ dwindling trust in the security of the platform with the help of the verified subscription model Twitter Blue. The security certificate is set to roll out on Friday, but only for Apple’s iOS mobile software, news site The Information reported, citing a person familiar with the plans. Because Twitter is rolling out the subscription offer via an iOS app update, the company required Apple’s approval as part of the review process, the report said. The Android version will be updated later.
According to the former head of trust and safety, Twitter has not become safer under Musk. The company no longer has enough staff for security work, Yoel Roth said in his first interview since resigning this month. After Musk took over the social media platform, Roth tweeted that security under the Tesla founder had improved in some respects. At a journalists’ conference, when asked if he still thought so, he said: “No.”
