Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis criticized Apple for allegedly threatening to remove Twitter from the App Store at Tuesday’s press conference.
In a series of tweets Monday, Twitter CEO Elon Musk accused Apple and the company’s CEO Tim Cook of censoring companies and platforms from their store. He alleged that Apple threatened to remove Twitter from the App Store for undisclosed reasons.
Apple has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 28, 2022
DeSantis joined in on the criticism, calling out the tech company for restricting the air-drop function in China to interfere with the protests against COVID-19 lockdowns.
“There’s reports that Apple is not allowing the protesters to use this air-drop function where they’re trying to communicate that,” the governor said. “Obviously, it’s providing aid and comfort to the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] and you see that report and that’s very concerning and then when you also hear reports that Apple is threatening to remove Twitter from the App Store because Elon Musk is actually opening it up for free speech and is restoring a lot of accounts that were unfairly and illegitimately suspended for putting accurate information about COVID.”
“That’s one of the main things that’s being reinstated, so many of these experts were wrong at and you had people on Twitter that were calling that out and Twitter, the old regime in Twitter, their response was to try and suffocate the dissent and Elon Musk knows that’s not a winning formula, and so he’s providing free speech,” he continued.
The governor said removing Twitter would be an overbearing use of “monopolistic power” and further accused Apple of catering to the CCP and using its power to “suffocate Americans.” He called Musk’s reinstatement of Twitter accounts “big progress” in expanding free speech on the platform. (RELATED: Jean-Pierre Says White House Is ‘Keeping An Eye On’ Musk’s Twitter)
“Don’t be a vassal to the CCP on one hand and then use your corporate power in the United States on the other to suffocate Americans and suppress their right to express themselves and so I’m glad things are changing at Twitter and I know there’s a lot to do with Big Tech generally, but this is big progress and we’re really happy that that is now happening,” he added.
As Musk called out Apple for alleged censorship, a content creation website, LBRY, alleged that the company for demanding their apps filter over twenty search terms related to COVID-19 and vaccines in order to be allowed on the App Store. In response, Musk posted a public opinion poll asking whether Apple should release all of their “censorship actions” against their customers.