Apple, Twitter’s largest advertiser, withdrew many ads from the platform after Elon Musk took over on October 30, 2022. After some tweets by Musk about Apple’s 30% fee collected when users of iPhones and iPads use their apps to make purchases, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Elon Musk met at Apple Park in late November 2022. After that meeting, Apple returned to its previous Twitter advertising spending of over $100 million annually.
Musk on Apple charges
While Cook and Musk were verbally sparring, Musk threatened to charge users two different prices for their premium service. Musk says he thought about charging $7.99 for the service brought through the company’s website and $11.99 if purchased through the app. Twitter has since abandoned the plan to put a blue checkmark before verified accounts after being shown how easy it was for people to get a fake account verified. Musk claims that Google and Apple control most of the access to the internet.
Epic Games litigation
Epic Games continues its legal battles against Apple. In September 2021, Federal Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ordered Apple to change its policies so that program developers could direct users to company websites to make purchases. The business litigation case continues in the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit, where Epic Games’ owner, Fortnite, argues that allowing a major corporation, like Apple, to say that developers cannot direct users away from the app to make purchases breaks the Sherman Act designed to promote healthy competition. The Department of Justice, 34 states and numerous corporations, including Microsoft, have asked to appear in court.
While Musk and Cook have agreed, Apple continues to face litigation from others because of its corporate policies.