Elon Musk and blockchain companies accuse Apple of censoring information

Blockchain-based payment network LBRY claims that tech giant Apple forced it to filter certain search terms during the COVID-19 crisis, violating free speech online. (LBRY is a decentralized content-sharing platform that allows artists, filmmakers, writers and other content creators to retain copyright and full financial control over their work — ed.)

In a Twitter post on November 28, LBRY notes that the firm was asked to censor everything related to COVID-19, especially vaccines and the human origin of the virus, otherwise the company’s apps would be removed from the Apple store.

«We had to create a list of more than 20 terms for which the results would not appear on Apple devices only. If we hadn’t filtered the terminology, our apps would not have been allowed in the store,» the crypto company said.

The firm made its statement in response to a tweet by Elon Musk, who noted that Apple has «largely stopped» advertising on Twitter due to concerns about the content circulating on the platform.

During Covid, Apple demanded our apps filter some search terms from being returned. If we did not filter the terms, our apps would not be allowed in the store.

Apple may make good products, but they have been opposed to free speech for some time.

— LBRY? (@LBRYcom) November 28, 2022

LBRY also claims that Apple has censored the «Pepe the Frog» meme in its videos. Pepe the Frog is an internet meme of a green anthropomorphic frog created in 2005. The meme was adopted by protest groups in Hong Kong and used in political ideology against the Chinese dictatorship.

The LBRY stated that «Apple may make good products, but they have been opposed to freedom of speech for some time.»

Meanwhile, the debate over Twitter censorship also continues. Since November 28, Elon Musk has been teasing users that he will publish «Twitter files» that allegedly contain evidence against previous CEOs of the platform who suppressed free speech on the social network.

The Twitter Files on free speech suppression will soon be published on Twitter itself. The public deserves to know what really happened.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 28, 2022

As a reminder, Musk' s takeover of Twitter and his further plans for the platform have led some users to look for decentralized social networks as an alternative.