Apple’s App Store continues to generate controversy with its bendy inclusion criteria. They’ve allowed the inclusion of Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” in e-book format into the store, despite its racially-insensitive swastika iconography. This in light of its previous rejections of the Obama Hope picture, and notably the Someecards app rejection, on the grounds that it “contains objectionable content,” begs a few questions.
Now, obviously, Apple shouldn’t be in the business of banning books, e- or not, so the book’s inclusion alone isn’t anything to write home about. But the fact that the regulatory group that decides what apps get to stay let the swastika remain just seems hypocritical. Other more innocent apps have been rejected for less. Also, they’ve slapped a rating of “9+” on it, which means that the content is okay for people aged 9 years and up. Hello? Anti-Semitic rants from the Most Evil Person In The History Of People is good fare for grade schoolers? Sometimes it just seems like the gatekeepers of the App Store are asleep at the switch.
I expect a quick turnaround on this one, but even if there isn’t one, I have to wonder just what the inclusion criteria are. Unless, of course, one of those is “make random-seeming judgments that run counter to previously-displayed criteria.”
Comments
george
November 6th, 2009 - 2:31:10 PM
seems, more often than not, their criteria is -- all's good until we get bad publicity (remember, the baby shaker app, was initially accepted). with that in mind, if this story continues to make the rounds today, it seems quite likely there will be some changes made.
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Derek
November 6th, 2009 - 5:21:43 PM
It is hard to understand how Americans can support censorship in any form. If this book is banned, then what is next? I see people walking around with Che Guevara shirts on, yet I do not hear anyone trying to get them banned despite Che being a communist revolutionary. Pathetic.
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Jay
November 7th, 2009 - 10:17:03 AM
If you are offended by the books content DON'T read/ download it. I'm sick of people in this country trying to tell people what they can and can't read/ watch.
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Doug
November 9th, 2009 - 12:52:41 AM
A few jews in the USSR killed far more than Hitler ever did. Jews Genrik Yagoda and Laventi Beria were head of the NKVD which was responsible for over 30 million gentiles killed. Hitler had to rearm Germany to prevent a communist takeover of Germany as had happened in several other European nations. New York jews such as Jacob Schiff (his descendent married Al Gore's daughter) funded the Communist revolution in 1917, and pushed the USA to enter WW1 despite any national interest, to get a jewish state in palestine. The Balfour declaration was a public statement for it. Quid pro quo. "We slaughtered the wrong pig", said Churchill.
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Mike
November 16th, 2009 - 10:31:57 AM
The book is perfectly legal in the USA first and foremost and secondly how dare you the author complain about the symbol on the app when you PUBLISH it on your webpage. Makes no sense to me. If you are going to write about how you wanna overthrow apple for including a book that didnt even have much success in sales so no one would even probably pay attention to it and compain about a Nazi symbol being included then hey DONT POST THE SYMBOL on your page.......hypocrite
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