In November 2022, Apple Fellow Phil Schiller deleted his Twitter account abruptly, after the company was acquired by billionaire and Tesla owner Elon Musk. Now, we know why Schiller dumped Twitter.
Apple’s top executive has joined Mastodon, a new social networking service that was temporarily banned on Twitter.
Ever since Musk took the reins of the microblogging company, the platform has implemented and pulled back several changes like increasing in Twitter Blue subscription fee and tieing the verified accounts’ checkmarks to it, banning third-party apps from using its API and content, removing “for iPhone, Android or web” labels and other in hope to grow revenue.
During the FIFA World Cup 2022, the microblogging service prohibited users from sharing links to third-party platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Tibel, and others. The policy was primarily targeting Mastodon because users were diverting their Twitter followers to it. However, after facing backlash, the policy was reverted.
Following Twitter CEO targeting Apple, Phil Schiller leaves the platform for good
In January 2023, a @Philip Schiller account appeared on Mastodon which claimed to belong to Apple Fellow. As the platform does not have verified account checkmarks, initially it was difficult to know if it were Schiller or an imposter.
Luckily, blogger @John Gruber confirmed that the Philip Schiller account on Mastodon indeed belongs to the Apple senior executive. 9to5Mac has also confirmed that it is Schiller’s official account.
Although Schiller has not offered an explanation for why he left Twitter, we can speculate that the dumped the service because of its CEO. Elon Musk used the platform to target Apple over its 30% commission for in-app purchases and alleged that the tech giant did not support his new “free speech” policies and had stopped advertising on the service. He also accused the company threatened to remove the app from the iOS App Store.
And only a few days later, he called his outburst a result of a misunderstanding. In an interview, CEO Tim Cook clarified that Apple had no problem with Twitter as long as the service continues to moderate hate speech to prevent abuse, harassment, and threats on the platform.
In August 2020, Schiller left his position as senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing and advanced to the position of Apple Fellow to lead the App Store and Apple Events. He directly reports to CEO Cook.
