UPDATE: iMussolini Returns to iTunes Store

Nicole Martinelli ()

UPDATE: iMussolini Returns to iTunes Store

UPDATE: See interview with iMussolini dev below.

Controversial iMussolini app was yanked from the Italian iTunes store a week ago, not for ongoing protests but for possible copyright violations of material from Italian state archives Istituto Luce.

The grim jawline of Il Duce has been reinstated in the iTunes store — now iMussolini, a mobile compendium of fascism, features  speeches,  a video selection (with a disclaimer), plus a section on fascist architecture and songs from his 20-year heyday.

It costs more than the previous version €1.59 (was €0.79. ) It’s also available in the US iTunes store for $1.99, in Italian only.

Cult of Mac asked developer Luigi Marino on how the app made a comeback.
Cult of Mac: So the copyright-contested video segments are still in the iMussolini app?
Luigi Marino: Yes. The videos are still there, my lawyer evaluated them in terms of copyright violation and advised me to keep them but add a disclaimer.

CoM: What does the disclaimer say?

LM: It says that the video footage is property of Istituto Luce. It also says that in no way does the app intend to praise fascism but is just a vehicle for recounting historical events.

CoM: What made you decide to put the app back in the store?

DON'T MISS
iMussolini Storms Italian iTunes Store (No More) UPDATE

LM: I also made a few other new additions to the content in the meantime, too.

CoM: What do you think about the Holocaust suvivors’ protests of the app?

LM: I’m sorry to hear about the protests, I don’t think they understand what the app is really about. I hope they may take a closer look at the content and change their minds.

4 comments »

About the author

nicole_martinelli

Nicole Martinelli is a San Francisco native who has lived in Milan and Florence, Italy. She's written for Wired.com, The New York Times and Newsweek. You can find her on Twitter , Facebook and Google+.

If you're doing something new/cool that's Apple related, email her about it.

(sorry, you need Javascript to see this e-mail address)| Read more posts by .

Posted in iPhone, iPod Touch, iTunes, Top stories | Tagged: |

  • Alfred

    We all have freedom of speech. This even extends to people with unsavory things to say.

    Besides, Mussolini’s speeches are also part of European history.

  • FreedomOfSpeech

    “Freedom of Speech” only refers to what the GOVERNMENT can control. You seem to be among the huge portion of the population who doesn’t understand that.

  • MMNW

    There’s a very fundamental difference in “freedom of speech” between europe and america. Many americans don’t realize this. European human rights usually consider human “dignity” the highest good, freedom of speech is considered second to that. So if speech violates the dignity of any human being (i.e. a holocaust surviver), it is not considered to be free. In general it’s the other way around in the US.
    So if some european countries restrict certain kind of speech, it’s not that they don’t honor freedom of speech. They just honor other human rights higher.

  • Ernesto

    Look at this!

    http://itunes.apple.com/it/app/guevara/id354666898?mt=8

    HASTA LA VICTORIA SIEMPRE!