"Apple has threatened to remove Twitter from its App Store, but they won't tell us why," the Twitter boss said after a series of tweets accusing the Apple brand of censorship.

“Apple has essentially stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate freedom of expression in America?”, he notably launched, before challenging the leader of the Californian group in these terms : "What's going on Tim Cook?".

"Is Apple threatening Twitter's availability on the App Store or making content moderation requirements?" Asked a user Elon Musk, who replied "yes".

Apple did not immediately respond to a request from AFP.

The tempestuous billionaire advocates a relaxation of the moderation of content on the social network, in accordance with his absolutist vision of freedom of expression.

His approach is scaring many advertisers, from General Motors to Pfizer, who have suspended spending on the platform.

However, Twitter's turnover depends on 90% of advertising revenue.

The fight against problematic messages (harassment, misinformation, hate speech, etc.) is also essential vis-à-vis the authorities (the European Union, for example, requires platforms to quickly remove illegal content) and mobile operating systems , i.e. iOS (Apple) and Android (Google).

The two giants can ban any application that does not respect their rules on content, often quite vague, with "catastrophic" consequences for the said application, explained ten days ago Yoel Roth, the former head of security at Twitter .

“Apple and Google have tremendous power over the decisions Twitter makes,” he summed up in an editorial published by the New York Times.

Elon Musk, who has fired more than half of Twitter's staff, is already facing many strategic issues.

That didn't stop him from declaring "war" on Apple on Monday in a meme (parody image) depicting a car named "Elon" taking a freeway exit in the direction of "declaring war," instead of continuing all right to "pay 30%".

"Did you know that Apple has a secret 30% tax on everything you buy through their App Store?" he asked.

Many application publishers, Epic Games (Fortnite) in the lead, are protesting against the 30% commission charged by Apple and Google on spending via their application stores.

© 2022 AFP