Censorship! Now Available on the iPhone App Store

FYI: Big Bad Apple censored this from their discussions because they don't want anyone to know what they are doing.

Recently upon updating my Craigslist app "CraigSearch" and after downloading all of the CL apps, I found that Apple has taken upon itself you censor out sections (personals) of CL because "They contain offensive content" Well I guess switching production of all apple products to China has had an effect. Apple is now thinking like the PRC government and turning the iPhone into the iNanny. What is next? Censoring Safari? Deleting offensive mail before it is pushed through Mobile Me?

Answer me this one? How can you censor CraigSearch but not YouTube? We all know there is "offensive" material on YouTube. What about Safari? Are you going to preload a "Net Nanny"?

I have something to say to all the "We have to protect our children" people. I say sure, but that is YOUR job to do. I don't care what Hillary has to say about "It takes a village". I don't have kids, don't want them and never will have them. So why am I forced to live in a bubble just to "protect YOUR children"? How about placing the responsibility onto the parents where it should be. Parents today are just too lazy to actively parent. They are out gossiping with several friends sipping their Caramel Macchiatos, oblivious to little Timmy running, screaming and tearing down displays.

If you are going to give a kid an iPhone then YOU are placing offensive content into their hands, so you should deal with it yourself. Don't force censorship on my life just because you want to keep your kid in a bubble. Don't force me into that bubble too. If you want true censorship for you and your kid, I suggest moving to China. The government has already set up censorship for you. It's ready to go, just move. That's it! On a serious note, Might I suggest a Disney Phone instead of a $400 smartphone for your kids to use? Or how about a jitterbug where you can program 911 and one or two other numbers (parents)? Why give a kid an internet phone then try to censor the world around them. Try parenting for a change. Why does a kid need a phone anyway?

As for Apple, remember the award winning ad in 1984 directed by Ridly Scott, where a woman in a track uniform runs into the "establishment" (i.e. IBM), where the masses are fed propaganda via a large video screen and then she throws a hammer at the screen breaking up the "mind control" of the people? Well, I suggest you get back to the Steve/Steve 1970s hippy attitude before we all start fitting ourselves with track outfits.

Does Apple R&D really read these things? Do they really care anymore?

FYI - a previous poster in apple discussions "a troll" said I'll have to find an escort using my mac instead. Well I am using CL to find a LTR and not an escort. This type of trolling and baiting is what clouds the issue of Apple's censorship which is serious.

Well it is really censorship

lordhamster said:

What you are talking about is not censorship, it is simply a business decision. If you don't like it you are free to buy a blackberry or any other phone you consider better.

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Albeit, a legal form of censorship.

cen·sor(sěn'sər)
n.
1. A person authorized to examine books, films, or other material and to remove or suppress what is considered morally, politically, or otherwise objectionable.

2. An official, as in the armed forces, who examines personal mail and official dispatches to remove information considered secret or a risk to security.

3. One that condemns or censures.

4. One of two officials in ancient Rome responsible for taking the public census and supervising public behavior and morals.

5. Psychology The agent in the unconscious that is responsible for censorship.

tr.v. cen·sored, cen·sor·ing, cen·sors
To examine and expurgate.

#1 explains it all... and Yes! Choosing to censor is a business decision. Let's hope for Apple that it was not a business mistake. Their demographic is the aged hippy technophiles, but still with a freedom outlook on life (I was not around in the 60s but I still am progressive). So Apple's choice to censor could comeback to bite them if they keep going down this road.

Also, corporations that have a large market-share have a responsibility to consumers and the marketplace as a whole to keep the public's interest intact (while they make a reasonable profit). When they start to dictate and ignore the public interest just to make a quick buck and force the public to buy by eliminating other choices, they will eventually fall. Case and point: Worldcom, Enron, Tyco, and now AIG.

I would like to see Apple stick around so even though I dislike them censoring us, if enough people get fed up with Apple's business decisions, there could be a mass exodus which will cause Apple to fail therefore no more iPhone or Macs... We will all have to use Blackberrys and the horrible UI design of Windows OS.

FYI, I can still reach all of CL using Safari, however I have to zoom and move a lot, which is less user friendly than a CL app. As for all the people and their LTR comments, Who's to say you cant find an LTR on CL. Friends of mine have, I don't like dance clubs and bumping into the right guy in the supermarket has not happened yet (crossing fingers). Plus in the M4M section of CL, 80% of the ads are sex ads (I am not offended by them even though I am looking for LTR), so when I find another LTR in the 20% I know they are serious about LTRs and could make a good match.

But I digress, The issue here is not whether CL is good for me to find a LTR, it is about Apple's "business decision" to censor internet content via 3rd party app restrictions and strict guidelines for approval. That is far more offensive to me that any sex ads I might run into on CL.

ucfgrad93 said:

There are other ways to look up Craigslist personal ads. Sounds like Windows Mobile is for you. Just sayin...

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Maybe.

I was thinking if I get fed up with Apple, I would jump to the Palm Pré when that comes out. If it is good. I liked Palm when PDAs were more than holding hands in public. and it could really seal the deal if the beef up Graffiti and include it. I think I still have the chops to jump back into speed Graffiti writing.

Although, I think the Instinct could be a lot like the iPhone UI, I can't stand the old UI on most Blackberrys like the current Bold or Curve.

It's a pitty, I love most all Apple products but I see them moving 100% corporate attitude (screwing the public for a quick margin rather than making something everyone wants selling it for a fair price while listening to the customers and getting rich by providing a kick-ass product that everyone drools over). I don't know if it was Steve's 10 Million Shares a year + $1 that made him too greedy, or other greed monsters looming at bay and positioning themselves as Steve steps down due to his cancer. Well I can say that John Chambers or Jim Sinegal, he is not.

sharp65 said:

There's a big difference between implementing parental controls and enforcing them for us.

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Nicely stated Sharp!

If Apple wants to cater to the overly sensitive nanny state consumers, which is not their demographic BTW, they could easily create, via OS update, an iPhone admin to have the parent set parental controls for their kids before they hand the $400 phone off to 10 year olds. Because we all know that 10yos are the movers and shakers, you know day trading stocks and scheduling power lunches. C'mon, why do they even need a smart phone, They can fixate on Nick Jonas via the shuffle and selected Teen Beat tear-sheets affixed to their ceiling.

The trophy-kid demo is a big market but should they gear their smartphone which catapulted Apple into a seat at the big table to the millennials, while shutting out all other demos in the process? Bad business if you ask me.

REBELinBLUE said:

I could be wrong but I'm sure I remember reading about this recently when Tweetie was rejected because of swearing on Twitter. I believe it was the developer who did it, took the decision to block sections that Apple may object to and give you the option to open it in Safari instead.

Could be wrong though, can't find the article I read now

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Tweetie and all other apps all decide to censor content, but it is based on Apples approval process in which they decline apps based on "offensive content". So yes the developer blocks those sections, but ONLY in order to get it past the nanny state, finger trigger happy Apple censors.