Apple Now Blocking 'Overtly Sexual' Apps from App Store

[Chupa Chupa]

It's the principle of the thing. If I want to spend my money on a boob app, why should Apple stop me? I'm a grown adult, and it's my money.

I see. And you say the same thing to the manager of Target because they don't sell [insert product name here] you want to buy? Apple isn't stopping you from buying a boob app, it's stopping you from buying a boob app in their store. If you want to buy one in the Android or M$ store, you are free to do so, provided they are sold there. There is no Gd given or Constitutional right to purchase boob apps in the iTMS store.

 

[Eraserhead]

Apple isn't stopping you from buying a boob app, it's stopping you from buying a boob app in their store.

The thing that makes it more complex is that they are preventing you from (legally) using a boob app on their device at all, which is much more serious.

EDIT: These applications don't seem to have been blocked from the UK AppStore. Well we are less prudish about these things.

 

[-=XX=-Nephilim]

Thanks Apple. You just made up my mind for me. My next phone will be Android. It's not that I like these apps, I've never downloaded one, but I'm not going to support your platform of censorship and deciding what's best for me.

Exactly how I feel...

I had money for the iPad as well as for the new iPhone or iPod Touch but after recent turn of events Apple really helped me!

My current iPod Touch goes to my lady while I am moving to Android - most likely Dell Mini 5 which looks simply awesome!

Great size too - way smaller than iPad (meaning pocket size and trully mobile) yet still significantly bigger than iPod Touch (meaning better movie and web experience) - and yes, it supports Flash for anyone who wishes to use it, and no, Steve has no influence over it - perhaps the best frekn reason to switch!

 

[dAlen]

Its funny the issues grown ups have with 'body parts'.

But I guess thats what you get in a shame based society who tells you boobs are bad while advertising it in your face via billboards, movies, etc.

"Here, we'll put it in your face via billboards ads, movies, etc. and at the same time say its wrong, thus creating a feeling of obsession/addiction for the 'forbidden fruit' and rake in money off of your obsessions through product identification."

Its business 101 at work and most people are duped into a senseless shame of the human body, and ironically these same people will support wars which maim & kill untold innocents as its what is told to them is the 'right' thing to do.

When M.Kaku said evolving to a level 1 society was the most dangerous phase... well, I can see why.

Peace

dAlen

 

[QCassidy352]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7E18 Safari/528.16)

This is censorship. I mean where do you draw the line? If the Metropolitan Museum put out an app which contains Edward Weston nude photographs or Nan Goldin's photos, would they be considered inappropriate to sell? When exactly does a nude body move from art to pornography and how can Apple make that decision? Why can't they simply create a section for adult content for 18+ customers?

"I can't define obscenity, but I know it when I see it."

everyone knows what these apps were - porn lite. Maybe you're ok with that and maybe you're not, but we're not talking about artistic nudes and you know it.

All of you who are so concerned about this "censorship" - before today, did you object to apple not allowing hardcore porn? I mean, same issue, right? As long as it's legal porn, apple should allow it all in, and any decision to the contrary is evil and controlling?

To be clear, I am basically the biggest first amendment proponent you could ever meet. But apple allowing or disallowing content in the store that it created, maintains, and owns has NOTHING to do with the first amendment or "controlling" your actions. You can buy an app like air sharing and load your iPhone with gigs upon gigs of hardcore porn, or access whatever you want in safari, and apple won't give a damn.

Just because you acn put porn on your mac doesn't mean they have to sell it int the apple store in your local mall.

 

[mccldwll]

It's the principle of the thing. If I want to spend my money on a boob app, why should Apple stop me? I'm a grown adult, and it's my money.

And what's worse is the fact that Apple is pulling these apps but Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto and other similar games remain. Boobs? Bad. Killing cops? Good, as long as the cop is fully clothed.

Then go get a droid, a zune, or some other POS portable device for your mobile pleasure. It's aapl's platform and apps which are DEVELOPED SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT PLATFORM certainly can be restricted. Maybe that'll present a business opportunity for Palm (which many here probably use anyway). I personally think violent video games suck, but they're out there on other platforms and just adapted for aapl (afaik). If someone developed an app where you could insert photos of people, then blow them away, I doubt that would fly. Same thing for music with objectionable lyrics which are already out there. Lines do have to be drawn somewhere on apps developed specifically for the platform.

 

[barkomatic]

Dumb move by Apple -- but this comes as no surprise as they are making their "ecosystems" more and more closed. Anyway, this move merely creates an opportunity for another platform for people who like to make their own choices when it comes to what apps they install. Not everyone wants apps that are censored for grandma and the kids.

 

[mdelaney123]

So, games where all you do is kill people is ok, but the human body is off limits? Stupid. Just make a section for that sort of app, label it, and let parents block it if they want. I don't have any of those apps, but still, they should be allowed. I hate this kind of ****.

Ugg... This is a really bad argument.

Violence is OK, Nudity is not.

That is the way it is in the US. Get over it.

The same policies hold true for Network TV, Wal-Mart, Costco, etc...

I cannot believe people are getting sooo upset that they can no longer buy iBoobs on the App store. Really? That is your make or break decision making the iPhone a useful device or not???

Give me a break.

In this day and age, if you are having that much trouble finding porn that this decision from Apple angers you, then you have some SERIOUS issues.

LOL

 

[tatonka]

I am not a huge fan of apple but they have decided THEY don't want to sell certain stuff in THEIR store.
What is the big deal? Imagine owning a store and a group of people demand you sell something, but you do not believe it fits your business model. Should you be forced to sell it.
Censorship, cmon really?

The first problem is that it is ridiculous to ban apps and leave Safari for example on there, because you sure as hell can get to "worse stuff" aka real pron using that.

The second thing is, of course it is their legal right to do it .. however we as user can be vocal about it? Just because something is legal doesn't mean it is right.
I happen to be utterly uninterested in these kind of apps, but apparently there is a market out there for them and people who bought their device a while ago get stripped the chance to buy/download things.

I buy a new phone every two years (plus minus a bit), meaning I have to live with my decision for about that period of time and I assume many others will be as well. Apple randomly taking functionality of the device as they please is pretty damn close to censorship as there is no other place you could get apps (legally) and I don't want to spent another couple hundred bucks on another phone now.
If they at least where consistent and one could rely on their rules .. but they constantly change .. and often enough not for the better.

Yes Apple can do as they please, but if they keep that kind of attitude up .. my next phone won't be an Apple phone again.
Besides .. what is up with all the aggressive and A+ updates anyways? .. but that is a different topic.

T.

 

[Gerry]

The thin edge of the wedge

Amazon.com returns 788 books with the title "boobs". There are 151 children's books with the word "cock". Apple have gone mad. This is a form of censorship that is, frankly, abhorrent, and is likely to turn people away from Apple's products. Some common sense needs to be applied here. Whether or not the application is of interest/use to anyone is neither here nor there. It's meant as a bit of harmless fun. Where do we stop? This bodes badly for the iPad - presumably books will be censored not only for their content, but also for their titles. And in respect of content, presumably not just sexual content but, on past form, anything that speaks badly of Steve Jobs. So where will *that* end? Will they censor on the basis of politics? Race? Religion? Of course some people complain that Wobble iBoobs is offensive to them. But did those same people complain to Amazon about all those boobs and cocks? Freedom of speech, as a principle, exists for a reason. I've evangelized Apple for over 20 years, but their Big Brother attitude is beginning to alarm me.

 

[Stella]

Maybe some of the Apps in question had a 'wardrobe malfunction'

 

[pmz]

About time. I'm sick of seeing 90% of content being iTits, or iBoobs, or iWobbly Bits, etc... Next, get rid of all the useless lighters, strobes and iFart apps.

Maybe they'll ban your account and solve it for you in one shot!

One can hope right?

 

[DaveTheGrey]

Here is the thing -- Apple isn't the gov't, and Steve isn't the Emperor of the U.S. so your analogy fails. The iTMS is Apple's property, and as such, it's Apple's right to choose what material it will sell. It's called property rights, something that doesn't exist in China. And the product Apple refuses to sell can be sold by another company, if that company so chooses. That is how business works. (Assuming the product is a legal one).

Nobody said it's against the law or human rights, what apple is doing...
I just think censorship is never the right answer to any problem.

 

[mdelaney123]

Thanks Apple. You just made up my mind for me. My next phone will be Android. It's not that I like these apps, I've never downloaded one, but I'm not going to support your platform of censorship and deciding what's best for me.

You should send out some post cards to you friends/family/co-workers!

"I am buying an Android phone so I can run iBoobs!"

 

[dmcdan0]

The App store is like myspace...littered with garbage for teenage boys. Thats it! The new app store category: "Horny Teenage boy" Because really, if you're a grown up pissed that you can't get iBoobs on your iPhone...then its time to grow up.

 

[skate71290]

That's one less trashy app on the app store, and more to follow. I was getting fed up of all these "sexy" apps filling up the top 25 lists.

Now if Apple would remove all the "lite" apps and add a lite/trial feature for paid apps, that would make the app store a nicer experience

I hate Lite apps... make all apps none Lite... but offer like an ability to unlock the full features... similar to a lot of Windows Games in addition i wish we could rename some Apps too look a bit better... sick of seeing stupid names and stupid icons for the apps

 

[frozencarbonite]

They just need to create another category of apps called "Crap" and move all the boobs, thongs and sex apps to it. That way they don't take up space in the other top 25 categories.

 

[mdelaney123]

It's inexcusable to sell violent games and ban boobs. Plain and simple.

Apple what is your response to the dozens of people who have already asked, "Why can't you get off you lazy *** and create a show mature content toggle?"

Give.Me.A.Break!

Porn is readily available on your iPhone via Safari.

Apple chooses not to sell apps like iBoobs.

What the heck is the big deal here???

This whole violence is Ok and porn is not agrument has NO WEIGHT!

As I said in an earlier post: Network TV, Wal-Mart, Costco, etc... All sell violent video games & movies, but not porn.

That is just the way it is. (Without getting into the argument of morals, declining values, teen pregnancy, and poor parenting.)

 

[mccldwll]

You should send out some post cards to you friends/family/co-workers!

"I am buying an Android phone so I can run iBoobs!"

That would be a waste of stamps. I'll bet his friends/family/coworkers already know.

 

[Eminemdrdre00]

This is such BS. The issue is they let this type of content in for so long. Now they just don't feel like allowing it? I feel bad for the developers that have to put up with Apple's crap. Maybe we should all send in complaints about Apple's Poker app. Saying if promotes gambling. Let's see if they pull that...

 

[mccldwll]

They just need to create another category of apps called "Crap" and move all the boobs, thongs and sex apps to it. That way they don't take up space in the other top 25 categories.

Or just call it "Junior High".

 

[briand05]

Thank God I have a Droid.

 

[johnmcboston]

As I said in an earlier post: Network TV, Wal-Mart, Costco, etc... All sell violent video games & movies, but not porn.

That is just the way it is. (Without getting into the argument of morals, declining values, teen pregnancy, and poor parenting.)

But that's the core of the issue. The reason for app approval was to make sure it plays nice within the system in terms of CPU, memory, no viruses, etc. The minute they start making value judgments, for any reason, they have declared themselves the morality police. They decided to draw a line. We can argue if there should be a line, and if so, where it should be drawn.

 

[fifthworld]

I'm as raging a liberal as anyone and love freedom of speech, but seeing iBoobs or HoxSexSuperHotGirls in the top apps makes me really lose faith in humanity and I'd rather see more worthwhile apps (or at least more...content-heavy apps) be celebrated instead.

That's one less trashy app on the app store, and more to follow. I was getting fed up of all these "sexy" apps filling up the top 25 lists.

I have no problem with porn but it does bother me to see these apps in the top 25. There is always the greater question of why society has a problem with nudity and sex but not with GTA or any game where you kill.

Excellent news, I was getting annoyed when going through either the top apps or going into different categories, I would find every other app is this content.

The problem is these sexual apps are appearing on the front page of top downloads lists. Thus, the content is unsolicited for certain users. The rest of the internet does not work this way, and Apple should not be held to another standard. For instance, one can access pornography or evocative imagery through Google or Yahoo, but it is not solicited on their front pages, for obvious reasons.

I don't give a damn about these apps or Apple move. But, hey, if these apps are in the top 25 all the time this is what WE are, and we shouldn't be afraid of seeing ourselves in a mirror.

 

[tatonka]

<snip>
That is the way it is in the US. Get over it.
<snip>
I cannot believe people are getting sooo upset that they can no longer buy iBoobs on the App store. Really? That is your make or break decision making the iPhone a useful device or not???
<snip>

Well .. I am not living in the US nor did I buy my phone there?

I am not getting upset about iBoobs, infact I could care less for those apps. What bothers me is that Apple can just decide, we don't want that, we are gonna cut it from the store (and we are not talking illegal things).
What if they decide to cut video players next? Or only allow you to connect to .mac mail and no other? Or not allow streaming music services any more? .. where do you draw the line?

I personally think everything should be in allowed and then put tags on them so everybody can do as happy rolls.

T.