Apple has finally issued some statements about the recent purge of sex related applications from the App Store.
Philip W. Schiller, head of worldwide product marketing at Apple, told the New York Times that over the last few weeks a small number of developers had been submitting “an increasing number of apps containing very objectionable content.”
“It came to the point where 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,” Mr. Schiller said.
“We obviously care about developers, but in the end have to put the needs of the kids and parents"
With over 5000 applications already removed Apple has destroyed the livelihood of many developers. Fred Clarke, co-president of On the Go Girls said that as of Monday all 50 of his company’s applications were no longer available. “I’m shocked... We’re showing stuff that’s racier than the Disney Channel, but not by much. It’s very hard to go from making a good living to zero,” he said. “This goes farther than sexy content. For developers, how do you know you aren’t going to invest thousands into a business only to find out one day you’ve been cut off?”
Even worse, Apple seems to have a double standard when it comes to applications published by large corporations. Both the Sports Illustrated and Playboy applications are still alive and well on the App Store.
When asked about the Sports Illustrated app, Mr. Schiller said Apple took the source and intent of an app into consideration. “The difference is this is a well-known company with previously published material available broadly in a well-accepted format,” he said.
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Philip W. Schiller, head of worldwide product marketing at Apple, told the New York Times that over the last few weeks a small number of developers had been submitting “an increasing number of apps containing very objectionable content.”
“It came to the point where 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,” Mr. Schiller said.
“We obviously care about developers, but in the end have to put the needs of the kids and parents"
With over 5000 applications already removed Apple has destroyed the livelihood of many developers. Fred Clarke, co-president of On the Go Girls said that as of Monday all 50 of his company’s applications were no longer available. “I’m shocked... We’re showing stuff that’s racier than the Disney Channel, but not by much. It’s very hard to go from making a good living to zero,” he said. “This goes farther than sexy content. For developers, how do you know you aren’t going to invest thousands into a business only to find out one day you’ve been cut off?”
Even worse, Apple seems to have a double standard when it comes to applications published by large corporations. Both the Sports Illustrated and Playboy applications are still alive and well on the App Store.
When asked about the Sports Illustrated app, Mr. Schiller said Apple took the source and intent of an app into consideration. “The difference is this is a well-known company with previously published material available broadly in a well-accepted format,” he said.
Read More