Publisher Fights Apple over nip-slip iPhone app

There’s been a tremendous amount of peek-a-boo over racy apps in the iTunes store lately. Following a purge of apps with names like Epic Boobs — which once squeezed their way past censors — some of them were re-instated.

Most of the offending apps, however, were produced by small shops. The hotties available on the iTunes store from big franchises — like Playboy and Sports Illustrated — were left untouched.

In this now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t fest, Apple, however, seems to have ignored an implicit gentleman’s agreement with German publisher Springer.

Springer owns tabloid Bild whose “Shake the Bild Girl” app undresses women with a shake of the device, leaving them naked, like the babes featured in the print edition.

Apple now wants them to remove the Teutonic ta-tas from the app — leaving the women in bikinis — raising the ire of the publisher. Springer reportedly sold 100,000 downloads of the app which costs €1.59 a month ($2.15, circa), also available with a PDF edition of the print tab for €3.99 ($5,40)  a month.

“Today they censor nipples, tomorrow editorial content,” Bild Digital CEO Donata Hopfen told local media.

The issue has raised enough ire that the Association of German Magazine Publishers (VDZ) asked The International Federation of the Periodical Press (FIPP) last week to approach Apple over the issue.

DON'T MISS
Apple Adds New Yorker to iPad Publishing List

More to come.

Via the Guardian

4 comments »