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Apple comments on Boobiegate, won't pull corporate sexy apps from store
Schiller has gone to bat for wrongly-rejected iPhone apps in the past, but this time, he's saying there's not much he can do. Due to overwhelming complaints from women and parents, Apple decided that they couldn't afford to offend any more customers with "degrading" bikini apps.
Not one to throw the baby out with the bathwater-soaked bikini, Schiller said that controversial apps by various well-known brands with other means of distribution -- think Playboy and Sports Illustrated -- will remain in the store. "The difference is this is a well-known company with previously published material available broadly in a well-accepted format," Schiller said. It probably doesn't hurt that the SI and Playboy apps both sell enough to make the store's "What's Hot" list.
Before we all cry censorship, remember that Apple's not the federal government. It can run its store however it sees fit. On the other hand, it seems ridiculous to lay down a blanket policy against a category of application that has been proven to offend customers, but then add a winking "... unless you're a major publisher, that is!" Is it really smart to address offended customers with a solution that's still basically offensive, and angers your developer base, too?
The graph above comes from AppShopper.com, and shows exactly how enormous the number of deleted apps has been during Boobiegate. Some people are estimating that the store lost 3% of its total apps.
Comments
14
Subscribe to commentsArnieFeb 23rd 2010 4:59PM
This policy of selective censorship is disgusting and completely and patently false. It is obvious that any reason Apple gives is hollow and obviously false. It is sickening when companies so obviously care about only money and has no principles what soever. No one asked Apple to make up the rules it did to censor certain apps, Apple did that themselves and yet they dont follow their own rules. While I agree this is their app store and they are free to do whatever they want, I find it as a precursor to the wavering and pandering nature of corporate Apple.
kojo87Feb 23rd 2010 9:09PM
censorship is a slippery slope. whats next? only certain porno sites are allowed to be viewed on an iPhone or iPad? then no porn at all? then you must enable "safe search" on Google Images? where does it stop?
PonTelonFeb 24th 2010 12:03PM
Many of the apps they pulled were paid. If they were just worried about money, they'd have just removed the free ones.
Claiming that businesses in a essentially free-market want money is not a very good argument.
I'm personally okay with removing all the junk skin-apps. They provide very little if any substance. Maybe 5-10 pictures that a google search can give a better and extended sample. If people want to get their dirty on, learn to do it efficiently and stop bogging down the App Store with 5 billion separate collections of a few pictures.
RidgecityFeb 23rd 2010 5:38PM
It wouldn't surprise me if EA or Ubisoft demand Apple to remove a game that sells better than their own and Apple agrees to it. Why not? They are doing the same thing here since Playboy app doesn't sell as well as other homebrew apps.
Why?
Shitty minuscule content.
blogwardFeb 23rd 2010 6:25PM
It's one pr0n for the rich and one for the poor! Discrimination, I call it!
registerFeb 23rd 2010 8:15PM
So, do they refund everybody that bought those apps?
What if I bought all 4000 of them the day before the pull?
Besides, I was under the impression they had parental controls available. I.e. you could enable something so that no 17+ apps could be downloaded.
I'm confused.
PonTelonFeb 24th 2010 12:05PM
As with all app-removals, if you bought it, you own it on your phone and backup on your computer. You just won't get any updates, and if you don't back it up and reformat your iPhone, you can't re-download it.
I've encountered this with my memory-wiping app. I still have it on my phone/computer despite it being removed from the app store a while back.
billyunoFeb 23rd 2010 8:25PM
Seriously, how freaking hard is it to add parental controls to this stuff? You would think that those parents who complain would simply make sure that their kids couldn't have access in the first place. And if women complain the answer is fairly simple... DON'T DOWNLOAD IT. It's not like the names of these apps make them ambiguous! They're called "Totaly Hot Girls" and "Bikinis and Thongs!" What do you think they're about? Cooking and Fashion? I think Apple is only going to appease the stupid people, and offend... well, everyone else.
armetcaFeb 23rd 2010 8:48PM
"Appease the stupid people, and offend... well, everyone else."
Isn't that Apple's corporate mission statement?
DaleFeb 23rd 2010 10:35PM
Armetca, sounds like the American way to me. :D
I'm less annoyed by boobiegate than the lack-of-gungate. I am far more offended by apps that are little more than glorified soundboards for real guns than I am boobies.
koritoFeb 23rd 2010 9:09PM
"remember that Apple's not the federal government. It can run its store however it sees fit. On the other hand, it seems ridiculous to lay down a blanket policy against a category of application that has been proven to offend customers, but then add a winking "... unless you're a major publisher, that is"
Either you agree that Apple can run its store however it sees fit, or you don't. Don't be incoherent. I think what they did is stupid, but that's no reason to be incoherent.
Jay HathawayFeb 24th 2010 1:42AM
It's not incoherent if you realize there's a difference between "legal" and "a good idea."
enerGIFeb 24th 2010 2:54AM
Apple dont want to offend the minority, and they just stick their finger up at the majority. Censorship at its worst, no matter what spin they put on it.
KCFeb 24th 2010 3:33PM
Hey, let's continue this bandwagon by knocking on the doors of Wal-mart and Toys-R-Us and demand that they sell porn too! Seriously, Apple is trying to make a change and we have to criticize them like they're stupid for doing so? Have we no shame? Furthermore, do a google on "how do you disable n" where n is any censorship scheme and you'll see quickly how easy it is to circumvent these things. Let Apple draw their line in the sand... if you have to have your porn, I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding it somewhere out there.