A few years ago, developers pushed a lot of boundaries in the iTunes store. Either that, or the minions who OK’d them in a Cupertino basement needed more coffee, better judgement and probably a raise.
As you’ve seen from our gallery of banned apps, the world really doesn’t need to play Baby Shaker with an iPhone. A lot of these apps made a peek-a-boo in the app store and were never more.
But as the virtual store becomes more like a bazaar for its wide range of offerings, you can find just about anything there – including apps about controversial figures like Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini.
In 2010, Italian developer Luigi Marino made a media splash with an app about dictator Benito Mussolini. The iPhone app of Mussolini’s speeches was the second-highest paid app in the Italian iTunes store a week after launching despite criticism for giving voice to Il Duce’s diehard fans. The app, available in the US store but published in Italian, costs $0.99 with additional in-app purchases for maps and videos.
It seems there is a kind of double standard for quote apps of controversial figures. For example, the US iTunes store features a bunch Dalai Lama teachings and quotes apps, but these were all removed from China’s iTunes store leading to cries of censorship. And if Il Duce doesn’t do it for you, there are still apps available on Che Guevara and Franco, too.
After Mussolini made a hasty exit for copyright violations, it was reinstated soon after and has been available ever since. Marino kept on developing apps, adding iStalin, Hitler and iGandhi to the store.
He told told Cult of Mac that there were some hiccups getting the Hitler app into iTunes. In fact, it remains unpublished in the Italian store after Jewish groups protested but it is on sale in Germany, where Mein Kampf has been banned since 1945. It’s the grim jaw of Mussolini, however, that Marino says attracts the most buyers.
“I still get emails every day about iMussolini,” Marino, who lives in Naples, Italy, said. “There is a lot of engagement – in my opinion it increases in times when there are more political problems.”
A $1.99 iPad app version released in March allows users to upload pics of fascist memorabilia to a gallery and share info from the app on Twitter, Facebook or via email.
Marino, now CEO at mobile development agency Creact, says he has about 20-25,000 users registered for push notifications for iMussolini.
