Apple Proves That Cencorship Is Cool And Hip
posted Sunday Feb 21, 2010 by Jon Wurm
Apple has recently been cleaning up the App Store but this time their goals are a bit more Puritanical. In the past they have gone through and gotten rid of apps considered to be rip-offs all in the best interests of the customer. Now they have decided to take things a step further in the purification process by purging any "overtly sexual content" from the App Store. What does a company who advertises itself as cool and hip determine as overtly sexual content? An Apple representative recently disclosed its judgments to the developer of Wobbie who is among those developers with apps expelled by Apple. According to him this is what they said,
1. No images of women in bikinis (Ice skating tights are not OK either)
2. No images of men in bikinis! (I didn't ask about Ice Skating tights for men)
3. No skin (he seriously said this) (I asked if a Burqa was OK, and the Apple guy got angry)
4. No silhouettes that indicate that Wobble can be used for wobbling boobs (yes - I am serious, we have to remove the silhouette in this pic)
5. No sexual connotations or innuendo: boobs, babes, booty, sex - all banned
6. Nothing that can be sexually arousing!! (I doubt many people could get aroused with the pic above but those puritanical guys at Apple must get off on pretty mundane things to find Wobble "overtly sexual!)
7. No apps will be approved that in any way imply sexual content (not sure how Playboy is still in the store, but ...)
It is well within Apple's right to control what apps are in their store and based on past experience they certainly won't hesitate to do so. What I don't understand is how Apple always gets away with giving its users the shaft. Instead of implementing some sort of parental filter or other way for the individual user to control and decide what content is suitable for them, Apple has effectively decided for you. Just as they have decided their users don't deserve a flash for their camera or Adobe Flash for their Internet. If people want to use your devices and services at least give them the benefit of having some control over how they use it.
