Jon Stewart Says Apple Asked Him Not To Have FTC Chair Lina Khan On ‘The Problem With Jon Stewart’

Last month, the U.S. Justice Department and more than a dozen state attorneys general sued Apple, claiming that the tech giant has an illegal monopoly over the smartphone market and warning that Apple’s monopoly on smartphones could extend to other areas of the economy, including entertainment.

Tonight on The Daily ShowJon Stewart offered a view into his own tussle with Apple related to his Apple TV+ comedy show The Problem With Jon Stewart.

“I wanted to have you on a podcast and Apple asked us not to do it,” the Daily Show host said to his guest, Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, referencing the podcast that was an extension of the Apple show, which the tech giant canceled in October.

“They literally said, ‘Please don’t talk to her,’” Stewart told Khan.

The FTC chair has been outspoken about her concerns over what she sees are monopolistic practices by tech giants like Apple which, she told Stewart tonight, have stifled consumer choice.

Stewart offered another example.

“They wouldn’t let us do even that dumb thing we just did in the first act on AI,” Stewart said, referring to a segment earlier in tonight’s show on what he termed “the false promise of A.I.”

“Like, what is that sensitivity? Why are they so afraid to even have these conversations out in the public sphere?” he asked.

“I think it just shows the danger of what happens when you concentrate so much power and so much decision making in a small number of companies,” answered Khan.