After pulling the plug on the Hottest Girls application, Apple has issued a statement saying they will not distribute inappropriate content on the App Store.
Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr told CNN, "Apple will not distribute applications that contain inappropriate content, such as pornography. The developer of this application [Hottest Girls] added inappropriate content directly from their server after the application had been approved and distributed, and after the developer had subsequently been asked to remove some offensive content. This was a direct violation of the terms of the iPhone Developer Program. The application is no longer available on the App Store."
This move is both understandable and questionable on Apple's part.
First, Apple clearly does not want to be seen as a company who is involved with distributing pornography. Parents will likely think twice about Apple both from a moral standpoint and as customers. If parents are under the impression that kids are getting access to inappropriate content from their iPods they will likely purchase some other device in its place.
That being said, pornography is legal. Apple should not be able to control what type of applications users put on their device. In fact, the application "Hottest Girls" doesn't really qualify as pornography. A topless woman is legal in many places and even found regularly in many newspapers. Calling this application inappropriate content seems like a questionable decision. Even if it is inappropriate, children would need their parent's credit card number or account access and they would need to circumvent the parental control settings on iTunes and their device.
Is this a wise decision by Apple? Is it the right decision? Sound off in the comments...
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Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr told CNN, "Apple will not distribute applications that contain inappropriate content, such as pornography. The developer of this application [Hottest Girls] added inappropriate content directly from their server after the application had been approved and distributed, and after the developer had subsequently been asked to remove some offensive content. This was a direct violation of the terms of the iPhone Developer Program. The application is no longer available on the App Store."
This move is both understandable and questionable on Apple's part.
First, Apple clearly does not want to be seen as a company who is involved with distributing pornography. Parents will likely think twice about Apple both from a moral standpoint and as customers. If parents are under the impression that kids are getting access to inappropriate content from their iPods they will likely purchase some other device in its place.
That being said, pornography is legal. Apple should not be able to control what type of applications users put on their device. In fact, the application "Hottest Girls" doesn't really qualify as pornography. A topless woman is legal in many places and even found regularly in many newspapers. Calling this application inappropriate content seems like a questionable decision. Even if it is inappropriate, children would need their parent's credit card number or account access and they would need to circumvent the parental control settings on iTunes and their device.
Is this a wise decision by Apple? Is it the right decision? Sound off in the comments...
Read More