Category Archives: censorship

NPR: Is Apple Acting Like An Old-Time, Broadcast Network?

Posted on by
1
" Could a news organization run into problems with Apple if they were publishing unpopular stories about a political topic? Imagine if The New York Times wanted to publish the Pentagon Papers on its iPhone and iPad apps. Would Apple stand in the way of controversial reporting if the political winds were blowing against it?"

CJR: It’s Time for the Press to Push Back Against Apple

Posted on by
1
"The iPad is the most exciting opportunity for the media in many years. But if the press is ceding gatekeeper status, even if it’s only nominally, over its speech, then it is making a dangerous mistake. Unless Apple explicitly gives the press complete control over its ability to publish what it sees fit, the news media needs to yank its apps in protest."

Faster Forward: Apple rejects Pulitzer winner’s iPhone app because it ‘ridicules public figures’

Posted on by
1
"This escapade raises an interesting question, one that media critic and tech writer Dan Gillmor has been asking for a while: Now that many news organizations use iPhone applications to publish their work, can Apple evict those programs if it doesn't like their content? What about, say, The Post's own iPhone app, which presents the often-scornful work of such colleagues as Dana Milbank and Tom Toles?"

Nieman Journalism Lab: Mark Fiore can win a Pulitzer Prize, but he can’t get his iPhone cartoon app past Apple’s satire police

Posted on by
1
"In December, Apple rejected [cartoonist Mark Fiore] iPhone app, NewsToons, because, as Apple put it, his satire “ridicules public figures,” a violation of the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement, which bars any apps whose content in 'Apple’s reasonable judgement may be found objectionable, for example, materials that may be considered obscene, pornographic, or defamatory.'"

Gizmodo: It’s Time to Declare War Against Apple’s Censorship

Posted on by
2
"Stern—a very large weekly news magazine—published a gallery of erotic photos as part of its editorial content. It wasn't gratuitous: It was just part of the material published in the magazine itself, integrated in their usual sections. The entire app was taken down, according to the Spiegel, and publisher Gruner + Jahr had to eliminate that content in order for the application to go up to the store again. They learnt their lesson, since they haven't published any other material that may offend Apple's "moral police"—as the German press calls it."