Florida Governor Ron DeSantis slammed Apple on Tuesday over Elon Musk’s allegations that he threatened to start Twitter from its App Store – and launched an investigation into the iPhone maker over its history of cooperation with the Chinese Communist Party.
DeSantis came to Musk’s defense hours after the billionaire Twitter CEO alleged that Apple had “threatened to remove Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why.” Musk also claimed that Apple – previously one of Twitter’s biggest advertisers – had pulled its ads in recent days.
In response, the Republican governor said Musk’s decision to reinstate thousands of banned Twitter accounts may have factored into Apple’s alleged actions – and the company’s response should invite scrutiny from Washington. .
“If Apple responds to this by eliminating them from the App Store, I think that would be a huge, huge mistake and it would be a really crude exercise in monopoly power that I think deserves a response from the United States Congress” , DeSantis said. said.
“Do not be a vassal of the [Chinese Communist Party] on the one hand, then use your corporate power in the United States on the other hand to suffocate Americans and try to take away their right to speak,” DeSantis added.
DeSantis accused Apple of providing “aid and comfort to the CCP” by restricting the use of its Airdrop feature in China, where protests against draconian government-backed COVID-19 lockdowns have spread across the country.
The Post has contacted Apple for comment.
Apple is already trying to avoid Republican criticism over its trade ties with China.
Apple CEO Tim Cook met with key lawmakers on Tuesday, including Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) , Rep. Brian Schatz. (D-Hawaii) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) under cover of antitrust concerns.
But insiders told the Post that lawmakers will no doubt ask him about other major concerns facing Apple: namely, that the company has quietly agreed to help the CCP suppress the protests.
A frequent critic of the “woke” actions of big business in America, DeSantis had previously engaged in a war of words with Disney over the company’s public disapproval of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. This dispute culminated in a Florida-led effort by DeSantis to revoke Disney’s special tax status within the state.
Musk attacked Apple in a series of tweets Monday, accusing the iPhone maker of using its control over the App Store to suppress free speech. In one article, he referenced Cook.
“Apple has pretty much stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America? Musk said. “What’s going on here @tim_cook?”
Musk also ripped off Apple for taking a 30% cut in revenue from big app developers with a placement in its App Store. Additionally, he posted a poll asking his followers if Apple “should publish any censorship actions it has taken that affect its customers.”
Nearly 85% of respondents agreed with Musk’s suggestion in the poll, which drew more than 2.2 million respondents.
“People have spoken…” Musk added on Tuesday afternoon.
Musk has angered critics in recent days before continuing his efforts to reemphasize an “absolutist” free speech model for Twitter’s content moderation practices.
This week, Twitter is restoring more than 62,000 accounts that were suspended under previous management, including more than 11,000 pages that were banned for violating the company’s COVID-19 misinformation policy, Platformer reported.
In a separate update on its website, Twitter said it would stop enforcing the COVID-19 misinformation policy entirely from November 23.
Musk previously infuriated critics but removed the ban on former President Donald Trump’s account, which was in place shortly after the Jan. 6 riot on Capitol Hill.
DeSantis and Musk have repeatedly backed each other up in recent months, with the Florida governor praising his decision to acquire and revamp Twitter.
Meanwhile, Musk reiterated last week that he plans to back DeSantis if he pursues his bid for the US presidency in 2024.
“My preference for the 2024 presidency is someone sensible and centrist. I had hoped this would be the case for the Biden administration, but I have been disappointed so far,” Musk tweeted last Friday. When asked if he would support DeSantis, Musk replied with a simple “yes.”
