App Store Still Rife With Sex Apps Despite New Ban

Erotic Titles Available on iTunes Feb. 22, 2010 10:30am PST

Apple’s App Store Porn Police or, perhaps the Puritanical Posse, if you prefer — has its work cut out if it’s to make Steve Job’s new decision stick and ban “overtly sexual apps” on the App Store.

As a previous post pointed out, some culling of the filth and froth has already begun, invariably taking down relative innocents in its wake. But the images posted here, snagged within the past half hour from the iTunes menu of available titles, give an idea of how thin the ranks may have to become before Apple’s online emporium has as squeaky clean a catalog as some might want.

Tellingly, too, it will be interesting (as some comments to the ongoing SEXGATE coverage have pointed out) whether Playboy and Sports Illustrated will ever be deemed too “overtly sexual” to have a place at the App Store table.

Hypocrisy, is thy name Apple?

Porn Titles available on iTunes App Store Feb. 22, 2010, 10:30am PST

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About the author

Lonnie Lazar is a writer-musician-web designer-attorney. He writes about Apple for Cult of Mac and Mac|Life, and about VoIP and telecommunications for Voxilla. Follow Lonnie on Twitter @LonnieLazar, join the Cult of Mac on Facebook, and find Lonnie's photos on Flickr.

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Charli
i suspect there is more to the story than Mr Wobble has given out.
Recycled Bottle
At this point these stories are becoming “null” in terms of being news. Yes, the app store “inspectors” are ripe with hypocrisy. But does it matter? If I were Apple and I read your article I would be compelled to remove these apps too. That’s not the end we are trying to achieve.
Few of these articles, especially on banning of sexually explicit apps, consider the situation from Apple’s point of view. Which is: iPhones, iTouches, iPods and iPads are marketed to people under the age of 18 and 21. Apple products are family products and need to abide by general morality guidelines if they are to be accepted in to homes, schools, and businesses.
Other topics, such as apps that are redundant to the Apple or their partner’s apps, challenge Apples *successful* business strategy.
Undeniably, the iPad changes the situation from a phone with apps to mini-computer with a phone, yet still apps cannot interfere with the phone device or the partnered service plan.
Many people recoil and shout “CENSORSHIP!” in their blogs, but I wonder if they really understand the role Apple fills. What happens when something bad happens to a device or to the user? The responsibility will fall on Apple’s shoulders – will hurt Apple’s bottom line. Someone in the equation has to be responsible and, frankly, I don’t expect that from anyone under 30.
Yes, Apple’s app approval process needs to be more benign. No, Apple shouldn’t allow all and any app.
Seth
@R.B.
I disagree with your argument. PCs are also marketed to people under 21 but that doesn’t mean software with explicit themes should be banned from computers.
A computer platform should be open enough to accept all legal types of user purposes. You say that iPhone et al is marketed to family, home, school etc. but that argument ignores the fact that the iPhone was and, I would argue, is marketed first to adults. The day the app store becomes just for family, children and educational use is the day I switch my phone to something else. I did not sign up to the expensive iPhone plan so that I could operate my phone in some cloud of puritanical morality. For one thing, as is readily apparent, each person defines morality differently which makes drawing that line of appropriate versus inappropriate impossible to define. I would rather just see an age limit on certain apps.