Former UFC fighter calls out Apple for trying to curb free speech on Twitter, accuses tech-giant of silence about "child pornography" on the platform

Former UFC welterweight contender Jake Shields lambasted tech-giant Apple for allegedly trying to curb free speech on Twitter. He further accused the company of remaining silent about important issues like "child pornography" being allowed on the social media platform.

A 17-year-old boy using the alias "John Doe" sued Twitter in 2021 because the social media platform had ignored his repeated requests to remove two child pornography videos in which he appeared. The victim disclosed that he was only 13 at the time the videos were recorded.

CEO and founder of Twitter Elon Musk questioned earlier this week whether Apple "hates free speech" due to the company's reduced advertising spending on the platform.

Musk didn't elaborate on the connection between Apple's spending on Twitter ads and its stance on free speech. However, he subsequently posted a series of tweets condemning Apple's policies and asserting that the company threatened to remove Twitter from the iOS App Store.

Shields lashed out at the tech-giant on Twitter in the wake of all this news, and wrote:

"Apple never threatened to remove twitter for allowing child porn but does for allowing open debate."

The former Strikeforce middleweight champion launched another tweet calling out Apple's "free-speech agenda."

"F**k Apple and their anti-free speech agenda."

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When UFC President Dana White spoke about the organization's policy of advocating free speech

The UFC has become a global powerhouse, and as such, the fighters have earned the right to speak freely without censorship. That can seemingly be attributed to Dana White's stance on the matter.

Unlike athletes from other sports organizations, who have faced backlash in the past for their polarizing statements and political stances, the UFC has been a lot more tolerant toward its fighters.

A good example of that was when White stood by Colby Covington's right to free speech when 'Chaos' criticized Tyron Woodley's 'Black Lives Matter' T-shirt during a deeply divided time, appearing to demonstrate that the promotion values its athletes' freedom of expression.

White reacted to Covington's comments and claimed that the UFC stands by the unequivocal rights of it's employees:

"Who’s more about free speech than we are? We literally let our people do or say whatever it is they do. It’s normal. Everything that happened this week, I f*cking saw it coming a hundred miles away. I could write the entire script for you, what would’ve happened at that press conference. You guys know it too. Plus, you heard everything already. You heard all the talk. These guys wanted to fight, they hate each other, the whole deal.”

Catch White's comments below: