Apple defends App Store titillation purge

By Robert Purchese Published 23 February, 2010

Kids and parents top priority, says Schiller.

Apple has responded to the controversial removal of titillating content on the App Store, claiming that, when all is said and done, kids' and parents' interests take precedent.

"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," Apple's Philip Schiller, head of worldwide product marketing, told the New York Times.

"We obviously care about developers, but in the end have to put the needs of the kids and parents first," he added.

Schiller said things came to a head when "an increasing number of apps containing very objectionable content" were submitted to the Store. Tut tut. [Surely "tit tit". - Ed]

Wobble iBoobs developer Jon Atherton was among the first to find his assets whipped off the App Store. He was given a long list of things to avoid (via Kotaku).

  1. "No images of women in bikinis (Ice skating tights are not OK either)
  2. "No images of men in bikinis! (I didn't ask about Ice Skating tights for men)
  3. "No skin (he seriously said this) (I asked if a Burqa was OK, and the Apple guy got angry)
  4. "No silhouettes that indicate that Wobble can be used for wobbling boobs (yes - I am serious, we have to remove the silhouette in [our] pic)
  5. "No sexual connotations or innuendo: boobs, babes, booty, sex - all banned
  6. "Nothing that can be sexually arousing!! (I doubt many people could get aroused with [our] pic but those puritanical guys at Apple must get off on pretty mundane things to find Wobble overtly sexual!)
  7. "No apps will be approved that in any way imply sexual content (not sure how Playboy is still in the store, but...)"

Some content has dodged Apple's beady eye. Sexy swimsuit producer Sports Illustrated has been given the benefit of the doubt.

"The difference is this is a well-known company with previously published material available broadly in a well-accepted format," explained Schiller.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (66) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Pac-man-ate-my-wife #1 2 years ago

    Better remove any film over a PG from the iTunes video store, all suggestive music from the iTunes music store and remove Safari from the iPhone too.

    What a fucking stupid move by Apple.

  • CaptainFantasm #2 2 years ago

    Won't somebody think of the children?

  • tobsen #3 2 years ago

    Apple is becoming so disgusting as a company that it is hard to get my head around it. And this is coming from a very long-time Mac user.

  • makeamazing #4 2 years ago

    Thats pretty extreme that it can still allow playboy but not the wobble app (yes the wobble app is pretty chavy and cheap and tacky, but then lots of apps on there are rubbish - so thats no excuse :).

  • Paulie_P #5 2 years ago

    I find the Lady Gaga song Disco Stick far more offensive than most of the stuff they censored.

  • Drone #6 2 years ago

    Wobble iBoobs. That just sounds awesome

  • DUFFKING #7 2 years ago

    If they really cared they'd implement parental controls rather than being so bloody sensationalist.

  • mossychops001 #8 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 11:49:27 04-05-2012

  • JohnnyWashnGo #9 2 years ago

    This is one of the main reasons why I stay clear of Apple. They remind me too much of the Thought Police and this move only further reminds me why I use Linux and choose to use and contribute to open source software.

  • FreakyZoid #10 2 years ago

    "The difference is these are big companies who we don't want to piss off, and not some guy developing on his own," Schiller didn't explain, more honestly.

  • onezeonx #11 2 years ago

    **Why dont they just have an "Adult" section where you have to agree/pin to go into and these apps cant enter the top 50 etc etc??
    Surely makes sense
    Edited by onezeonx at 23/02/10 @ 17:39

  • Spanky #12 2 years ago

    What about Hanna Montana? I find it objectionable!

  • dr_lha #13 2 years ago

    Its fine if Apple wants to do this, but they need to be consistent and ban the Playboy and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit apps as well.

  • Shikasama #14 2 years ago

    How very shallow and transparant

  • VicViper #15 2 years ago

    The stupid slide show apps etc I can understand as they are ususally rubbish and pathetic. However at what point will the sheer vast money source made up of twenty to forty year old game buyers/players does it take for companies and the media to notice that maybe, just maybe all games are not and never intended to be toys or seen as such.

  • des #16 2 years ago

    Tits are good :(
    Apple sucks,damn hypocrites...GTA=OK...Tits=end of the world,delete,delete,delete

  • MaFlippinHeadHurts #17 2 years ago

    Does anyone know if this is why I can no longer download "The Kill" by "30 seconds to Mars"?

    I downloaded it few years ago but erased it by mistake and when I searched for it recently, it wasn't there.

    I'm referrring to the music video and not the song it'self.....
    Edited by MaFlippinHeadHurts at 23/02/10 @ 17:43

  • darleysam #18 2 years ago

    Hot on the heels of the e-reader app that was removed because it could be used to read the kama sutra (and not at all under any circumstances because it might possibly just be maybe competing with a possible product Apple would like to sell themselves without any competition, no sir), someone really needs to sit their turtle-necked staff down and explain that they actually need to stop being tremendous dicks about how they run their store.

    How is it that one company can be sued by Europe for bundling their own web browser with their operating system, but it's just fine for another to shut down anyone daring to try and sell a similar product to one of their own on their hardware?
    I just don't see how the iPhone is such a popular platform for developers when the owners are free to just go mental and take down any product they see fit, with no real reason or reproach.
    Edited by darleysam at 23/02/10 @ 17:50

  • Sunyavadin #19 2 years ago

    Anything which gives Apple's competitors more of an edge is a plus in my book. Same with any industry.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #20 2 years ago

    I wonder if this means the 'photography' section of the app store actually contains photography-related apps and not just pictures of Japanese girls in their underwear now?

    Edit: (checks) Goodness me, it actually does!

    Now, I'm not advocating corporate prudishess, especially when it comes to a device that connects to THE INTERNET without parental controls, but if the do allow these things, at least put them in an appropriate category. Now I'm off to download GorrillaCam, that looks interesting...
    Edited by MENTAL1ST at 23/02/10 @ 17:55

  • paulf #21 2 years ago

    The main problem with app store is the majority of stuff on there is shite (including the two apps I've done) not that some have nakedness, of course this creates a great business model for apple, cause hardly any of the entertainment apps you would want to use for more than a couple of minutes, so you just buy another and another. Exceptions to this that I've played are peggle and Rolando mind

  • Doctor_What #22 2 years ago

    Everyone knows that in America violence is a perfectly normal function of life that should be acceptable for all children and sex is an unspeakably dark act that will warp their tiny minds.
    /only slightly taking the piss

  • Freek #23 2 years ago

    Good thing this device isn't internet enable or you could just...oh wait...

  • Inigo #24 2 years ago

    I was planning on buying the iPad on the day of release, now i'm not.

    I have no interest in games like iWobble but what about more adult orientated games along the same line as Mass Effect and Heavy Rain?

  • RESIDENT_nEVILe #25 2 years ago

    In Apples's world everybody wears white track-suits and sex is a relic of the past. The mere sight of a booby could cause irreparable damage to the newly hatched younglings - forcing Apple to destroy the entire batch.
    Edited by RESIDENT_nEVILe at 23/02/10 @ 18:50

  • GamesConnoisseur #26 2 years ago

    The sequel for Janet Jackson's escaping tit not going to appear on iPhone anytime soon?!

  • AphoticCosmos #27 2 years ago

    Yes, all the children who have £200+ iPhones on legal contracts.

    Censorship is the scourge of liberty.

    This kind of bullshit is why my next phone will be running Android, and why I'm ditching my iPod Touch. Apple can screw themselves.
    Edited by AphoticCosmos at 23/02/10 @ 22:39

  • Alkeno #28 2 years ago

    Embarrassing.

  • raion #29 2 years ago

    Seriously guys? Any of you really surprised? Of course they go by the "my store, my rules" credo.
    Yeah, it might piss you off, but wether you're a developer or a buyer, I'm sure that first thing you have to do is agree to a long and boring text where they tell you that they have all the rights to do whatever they want to.

    I'm not pissed of with apple for this (I am however for their refusal to add a 'screen power off' button for their iMac line), I'm pissed off at the parents that keep complaining about everything.
    And George Carlin thought we were unhealthily obsessed with children fifteen years ago. Yeah.

  • Stu #30 2 years ago

    Er... sorry to go against the grain on this one, but that sounds fair enough to me. The app store was becoming increasingly littered with pretty vulgar 'apps', and anything that re-focuses the store on what apps are actually good at (rather than essentially being an archive of women in bikinis) is for the best as far as I'm concerned.

    There probably is a place for those sorts of 'apps', I would just suggest that you can switch on/off 'mature' content in the settings if you're over 18.

  • hiddenranbir #31 2 years ago

    Kids with iPhones? Effin' parents.

  • Distributor #32 2 years ago

    Apples store, apple can do what they want.

  • Vroom #33 2 years ago

    That the EG app screwed then.

  • potrobot #34 2 years ago

    I have always found it odd that people have needed an app to look at softcore images while a plethora of tantalizing pics are EVERYWHERE ALL THE TIME, with or without an iPhone. Is anyone actually gonna miss one of these apps, or is it the principal of the thing?

    @raion
    It's not quite a power off, but you can turn off the display (essentially putting the display to sleep) on any mac by pushing control-shift-eject. And I agree that parents need to stop complaining as much. That's the real issue. If their kids have an iPhone, stupid wobbling boobs are the least of their potential problems.
    Edited by potrobot at 23/02/10 @ 21:01

  • Carlo #35 2 years ago

    So are they banning the browser app? I mean, there's porn in it!

  • SpaceMonkey77 #36 2 years ago

    Lol. I'm stil going to buy an iPhone eventually, but this is really dumb thinking fromApple. The real reason I think this is happening is because Apple doesn't want all content to be submitted to the ESRB before it goes on their store. The best way to eliminate this problem, would be to advise ap/game developers to rate their material before hand, and have password locked categories for stronger material. But no, to hell with such forward thinking.

    EG: Buy an adult rated ap/game and a special password will be emailed to you only to activate it. Make use of the likes of Paypal too. Why is that so hard to do, Apple?

    I tell ya, if some of my favourite content start disappearing soon, I'll be using iTunes a lot less.

    I hope that, in June when Apple roll out their new Apple products, fans get in their and protest this crap. Better yet, boycott the iPad if necessary, until they get real with some reasonable answers. Selective hearing doesn't do you justice, Apple.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #37 2 years ago

    You can get an iPod touch 8gb off amazon for the same price as a PSP 3000, which is a tenner more than a DSi, and loads less than a psp go. All of these apps would have been visible to kids browsing the app store on one of them. Plus, iTunes is deliberately set up to share a music, video and app purchasing account between several members of a single household, on up to 5 devices at once.

    I can see why people would be getting fed up of the app store filling up with half-arsed smut, but banning previously-approved apps by the truckload seems like the wrong sort of path to take. Mind you, if there was a restricted 'adult' app category, you'd only get people trying to skirt it's restrictions, just like publishers do with the AO rating for boxed games in the US.

  • BabyJesus #38 2 years ago

    I'm Commander Shepherd and this store is run by hypocrites.
    Edited by BabyJesus at 24/02/10 @ 00:02

  • Jackface #39 2 years ago

    This is going to sound so Apple Apologist but... yeah, it's a really stupid move on Apple's part, to be so blunt with their actions in the App Store, but it seems to be a bit of a weakness for them anyway. It feels like they really haven't got a logistical handle on managing it the way they do, so hands on. As a result there's absolutely no finesse, just sweeping vague rules that still haven't settled down.

    I was really hoping they'd get a handle on this issue soon, but now the iPad is coming the App Store's going to get exponentially bigger and harder to manage.

    A shame - all that really needed to happen here was that all these apps that are being removed should have been herded into a 'Mature' section, hidden and locked by default unless you turn it on with your Apple Store login. Then they can kick out the ones they really object to (as is their right) at their leisure while offending nobody.

    And another thing - there's absolutely no excuse for letting Playboy and Sports Illustrated stay while kicking out all the other apps showing exactly the same level of nudity or whatever. Schiller's line was such an excuse to keep the big boys 'on side' and he knows we know it.
    Edited by Jackface at 24/02/10 @ 00:05

  • gjgjg #40 2 years ago

    does SFIV have enough giggle and skin to be banned too then?

  • Syrette #41 2 years ago

    Sounds to me like the feminist brigade have won again, then.

    Women's rights, eh... whatever next.

  • da3en #42 2 years ago

    I only wish they'd remove all apps that you find when you enter the search term "fart" too.
    Plus, if they would remove all apps that are made of it and just don't contain it in their names, the store would be mostly empty.
    Also, to me it looks like what they actually did is remove the shittiest of the lets-make-a-quick-buck-with-boobies apps. They didn't touch any games or anything... :/

  • Collymilad #43 2 years ago

    Load of ****

    How about i get every shop that sells something that offends me in the high street banned? Because, you know - i might see it, and even though i have the choice now to buy anything i'd still be scarred for life.

    This "Omg i'm so offended, ban it" **** culture is ridiculous.

  • Stompy #44 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 23:13:35 17-04-2012

  • Stompy #45 2 years ago

    Post deleted at 23:13:35 17-04-2012

  • KayTannee #46 2 years ago

    And this is why I hope Apple never overtake Microsoft.

    I'm never going to download iBoobs or iFarts or any other piece of trash app. But that doesn't matter. I don't want to be told what I can and cant use. Which Apple seems to love doing.

  • Wobble #47 2 years ago

    iWhat?

  • UncleLou #48 2 years ago

    And this is why I hope Apple never overtake Microsoft.

    I'm never going to download iBoobs or iFarts or any other piece of trash app. But that doesn't matter. I don't want to be told what I can and cant use. Which Apple seems to love doing.

    Ever heard of the 360? Microsoft doesn't publish games that get refused an 18+ rating in Germany, though it would be perfectly legal to do so. Or I suggest you try publishing a hardcore porn game on the 360. And I also suggest waiting how Microsoft's new Windows Mobile appstore will develop.

    I absolutely see where you're coming from, of course. It's part of the reason why I prefer PCs to consoles, but comparing the appstore to Windows (which I assume is what you meant) doesn't make much sense.

    Either compare the policy on the two OS's (Windows/Snow Leopard), or compare the policy on the locked systems. Or complain about content control in general.

    edit:

    Oh, and yes, Apple desperately needs an adult section. At the moment, it's a very unhealthy balancing act between censorship and porn stuff clogging up the store anyway (just look into the book category).
    Edited by UncleLou at 24/02/10 @ 08:25

  • reality_cheque #49 2 years ago

    Well I guess as I'll be ditching my iPhone at end of contract for another brand rather than upgrading there's no point me picking up an iMac for developing on.

    I wasn't going to make any TnA apps, but now I'm not going to make anything at all.

  • Odessa #50 2 years ago

    Seems it is time for jailbreak ....

  • Sunyavadin #51 2 years ago

    If your aim is increased competition, then you must applaud anything which gives Apple an edge over its competitors. Making your statement pretty trivial.

    Not really, I'm against monopolies, which is what Apple are becoming. As the largest name in the personal mp3 player industry, and a rising one in the mobile phone business, with many words such as "podcast" synonymous with them (Often, as in the case of podcast, simply a name popularised by their product for something which had a dozen different names prior to Apple entering the market) there's no disputing they're a major force in the market. Increased competition means the smaller companies getting more of an equal footing. Do you count it as increased competition when the largest bank offers sweeter deals that the smaller ones cannot afford to?

  • kestral #52 2 years ago

    Go apple, i was getting fedup of 480 different variations of boobs in the games listings. I'm sure in time there will be an erotic category for tihs and parental filters to hide it.
    Edited by kestral at 24/02/10 @ 09:37

  • Les #53 2 years ago

    "but comparing the appstore to Windows (which I assume is what you meant) doesn't make much sense."

    +1

    Am curious to learn how the apparent double standard will held up in court...

    Unfortunately, the people that care about censorship are in all likelihood vastly outnumbered by the people that fret if their kids see models in swimsuits on their phone. It's a rather crazy world.

  • menage #54 2 years ago

    Fuck Apple.

    What parent gives there kid expensive crap like that anyway, spoiled brats.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #55 2 years ago

    What parent gives there kid expensive crap like that anyway, spoiled brats.

    Can you people not read? The cheaper models of iPod Touches are of a similar price or cheaper than Nintendo and Sony's portable consoles (£135 off Amazon), and have been marketed primarily as gaming devices for more than a year now.

    There's more to the iPhone OS market than a £550 pay-and-go iPhone 3Gs.

  • Jackface #56 2 years ago

    Man I love reading all these people whose life mission seems to be to be angry at Apple for everything they do. Something like this, that does actually inspire facepalming even amongst those who respect the company, must be a gift to them. FINALLY! Something that actually warrants their neverending bile!

    :D

  • Les #57 2 years ago

    "FINALLY! Something that actually warrants their neverending bile!"

    Indeed.

    Though there's probably plenty of hypocrites among them that don't have any problem with censorship if it's carried out by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony... ;)

  • actionfitz #58 2 years ago

    Fucking Boob haters. :/

    "No skin (he seriously said this) (I asked if a Burqa was OK, and the Apple guy got angry)"

    I find this hilarious though.
    Kudos for showing the apple guys up for pricks they are.

  • actionfitz #59 2 years ago

    "Tonight there's gonna be a jailbreak
    Somewhere in this town
    See me and the boys we don't like it
    So were getting up and going down"

  • menage #60 2 years ago

    @Metalist

    Yeah, cause the articles clearly said so. Where the hell am I supossed to get that info from then. Only the NY artcile mentions something even remotely similar (nothing about kids buying chepa iPods)

    I don't have time to hotlink myslef silly, I'm not unemployed.

    Giving your kids a device which is network enabled has risks,

    And people who don't like things only complain, happy users never give positive feedback. Maybe we should all be writing we want more boobs to everyone, might change the whole thing. Whiners always win this way.
    Edited by menage at 24/02/10 @ 13:14

  • Jackface #61 2 years ago

    "@Metalist

    Yeah, cause the articles clearly said so. Where the hell am I supossed to get that info from then. Only the NY artcile mentions something even remotely similar (nothing about kids buying chepa iPods)"

    Dude it's your responsibility to check your facts before spouting irrelevant bile, not ours!If you need sources you could have looked no further than EG's iPhone news stories, many of which have reported on Apple's very deliberate focus on the iPod touch as a gaming platform. Prices are available on Apple's site, shockingly enough.

    :)

    I agree with you that it's fucking retarded of Apple to clamp down so widely on anything whatsoever that shows some skin. There's a real problem in the App Store department at Apple. Their employees have no consistent guidelines to go on, as demonstrated by the hugely inconsistent approval/rejection issues, and epitomised beautifully by a totally harmless game getting busted during this clampdown just because the main character wears a skimpy outfit. Ridiculous. Another app that serves as a storefront for a swimwear shop was pulled as well. They're both back on the Store now but that's beside the point. This ban is a knee-jerk reaction to knee-jerk right-wingers and, by the sounds of it, regular moany prudes.

    Okay, so let's say these prudes have a valid cause for complaint. All Apple had to do was sweep all these apps into a private section labelled Mature that was hidden from view by default to ALL users of the App Store, accessible only by entering your App Store password. Done. I can't understand why on earth they haven't done this.
    Edited by Jackface at 24/02/10 @ 15:34

  • Les #62 2 years ago

    "I can't understand why on earth they haven't done this."

    For one thing because they didn't think things through enough. Had they anticipated the 'outrage' over swimsuit model applications they wouldn't have allowed them in the first place (just like Sony, Nintendo and MS don't allow such stuff on their online stores) and nobody would have cared...

    Fully agree with you that the inconsistency in their approval process is a problem that they should address ASAP. Might have legal consequences for them if they don't.

  • Syrette #63 2 years ago

    @Stompy

    It's called a joke.

  • Bander #64 2 years ago

    Going by the list of things to avoid, some DS games would fail those criteria.

    Even Project Rub. Apple would ban a game that Nintendo and Sonic Team are quite happy with. And its sequel.

    Who gives a kid an iPhone/iPod Touch, knowing its value and internet capabilities, and a means of making App Store purchases anyway?

  • ChocNut #65 2 years ago

    Apple are really getting in my bad books this year.

    The ipad could have EASILY been much better (flash at the very least ffs), but they should just make an adult category that you can't browse until you enter your password - problem solved.

    All this does is drive geeks away. Don't forget your roots Apple!

  • Quak #66 2 years ago

    complaints from women who found the content getting too degrading and objectionable

    We all know they'd be all over an app full of cocks like flies on shit. Talk about double standards.

    as well as parents who were upset with what their kids were able to see

    Get a fucking adult section going then. SIMPLE!