Apple pulling Twitter from its App Store would have a 'devastating impact' on the social media platform.
That is according to Newstalk Technology Correspondent Jess Kelly.
She was reacting to Twitter CEO Elon Musk calling out the tech giant for decreasing its advertising spend on Twitter.
Musk said the company had "mostly stopped advertising on Twitter", before adding: "Do they hate free speech in America?"
Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 28, 2022
He also tagged Apple CEO Tim Cook, asking him "What's going on here".
Musk claimed Apple had "threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won't tell us why."
Apple has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 28, 2022
Jess told The Pat Kenny Show any change in Twitter's availability would be a huge blow.
"Yesterday evening [Musk] decided to call out Apple; not only saying that it has halted most of its advertising on the platform, but it's also threatening to remove the app from the App Store," she said.
"If that was to happen that would have a devastating impact on Twitter as a platform in the whole.
"Around a billion people have iPhones, so if those billion people can't get access to the Twitter app via their iPhone that is going to severely impact Twitter's stats and so on".
'Twitter's ability to handle moderation'
She said Musk may have inadvertently highlighted something else with his tweets.
"He seems to be gunning for Apple now," she said.
"What a lot of industry experts are saying is that rather than just taking a swipe at Apple, he's highlighting that one of the biggest brands in the world no longer sees this platform as worth spending money on, which is probably more troublesome."
She said there are also concerns around Twitter being able to moderate hateful content.
"Apple and Google, and most app stores, have a very strict criteria by which different apps have to adhere to to be featured within the App Store.
"There is a concern around Twitter's ability to handle moderation of hate speech on the platform.
"This has been a big talking point over the last number of weeks, particularly since Elon Musk let a number of its senior executives go.
"There are genuine concerns about the safety of the platform [and] the platform's ability to adhere to the different terms and conditions that it needs to."
She added that this is an issue not only for Apple but also "from the European Union, from different governments - it does seem to be unravelling at the seams a little bit here".
