• Apple Bans Sleazy Apps after Complaints

    Apple Bans Sleazy Apps after Complaints

    Techtree News Staff, Feb 23, 2010 1744 hrs IST

    Women complain saying these are degrading

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Do you enjoy all those funny, suggestive apps on your iPhone or iPod Touch? We hate to tell you but all that fun might end soon as Apple has decided to ban all the sex-tinged apps that feature sleazy and sexually suggestive material from its Apps Store.

Phillip Schiller, senior VP of Worldwide Product Marketing, said in an interview to The New York Times, "We were getting customer complaints from women who found the content getting too degrading and objectionable, as well as parents who were upset with what their kids were able to see."

Over the last few months, several suggestive photos laden apps have been submitted to the Apple's App review bench. Obviously, kids and teens have been checking and using such applications from the App Store. Also, users have little knowledge about Parental Control options. Every setting to prevent kids and teens accessing sleazy material is right there Settings>General>Enable Restrictions.

However, is it not funny that after banning such apps, the company continues promoting Sports Illustrated Swimsuit 2010 app in its App Store? Schiller defended this saying, "The difference is this is a well-known company with previously published material available broadly in a well-accepted format." So, clear demarcation lies in the fact that if you are a well-known company with wide availability of previously published material, then you can get through the fences. 


Apple's App Store has turned out to be a gold mine for these developers and based on that, iPad was launched. However, what would happen when Playboy and other similar content publishing magazines would come up with apps for large screen bearing iPad? That indeed would be a tight situation for Apple to tackle. For now, iPhone and iPod Touch owners should make the best of parental control settings and levy restrictions on installing apps on their devices.

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Discussion Board
(5) Comments
Franchie
,Sandton, on Feb 23, 2010 07:37 PM
If you don't like scary movies - don't watch them. If you feel offended by nudity - don't watch it. If you don't like cabbage - don't eat it. Give people a choice and stop moaning about the fact that people are different. It's as simple as that...
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Jefferson Mitsw
,Jacksonville, on Feb 23, 2010 07:36 PM
Is this the kind of draconian control I want some third party to have over my ability to access content? NO. Whether it is the Catholic Church, Government, or Steeve Jobs makes no difference it is still censorship and control. The content in question would be considered tame by 99% of the population. I suspect that Apple has caved to threats from the very vocal religious right minority.
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dlevartt
,Baltimore, on Feb 23, 2010 06:24 PM
Not that I condone the content of these apps, but who elected apple to the post of 'morality police'? This is one of the problems of the draconian world of apple; Only Steve Jobs gets to decide what is available for the iPhone. Jobs way or the highway. There must be a first amendment case in here somewhere. Thank god I have an Android phone. At least I'm the only person who can decide what apps are on my phone.
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Phil
,New York, on Feb 23, 2010 05:59 PM
No, it's not "funny." Women don't have to buy or use the apps; clearly, their complaint is strictly political and wanting to control other's behavior. As for kids, there are parental controls, lockable, and easily settable, as the article describes. Finally, it's most definitely NOT about any principle concerning "objectionable (to whom?) material" since, as the article correctly reports again, the larger corporate sites such as Playboy and Sports Illustrated continue to have downloaded apps with IDENTICAL CONTENT TO BANNED APPS. Apple, once again, embodies the worst in its grasp of freedom and citizenship in the United States--supporting large corporate interests over small entrepreneurs, lying about protecting kids (when its product already has built-in controls to do just that), and caving into to a small, vocal minority (prudish women) who go through life feeling offended and wanting to push their restrictive, dry world view onto everyone and everything. Good riddance Apple. Now learn how to say, "Class action."
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Jessica
,Indianapolis, on Feb 23, 2010 06:14 PM
So the world is a drier place without boob-jiggling apps. THAT is funny.
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