Apple Purges “Adult Content” From iTunes Store

Responding to requests from customers and developers, Apple has recently removed over 5000 applications from the iTunes store that were deemed to have “adult content.”

The move is being hailed by some and condemned by others.

“There just seems to be too many of these really simple applications that do nothing but show pictures of girls in bikinis or in suggestive, adult poses,” said developer Wally Chang. “It’s cluttering up the App Store.”

Chang is the founder of Donoma Games and spoke to the New York Times about the purge.

Apple removed a number of applications that included females in swimsuits and applications that contained sexual content according to the New York Times report. Apple instituted parental controls on the store last summer, but some say that wasn’t enough. Even though underaged users couldn’t download and install the content, they could still see screenshots of the application.

Apple removed the applications in an attempt to maintain control of its iTunes store and application development.

“At the end of the day, Apple has a brand to maintain,” said Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray who keeps a close eye on the company. “And the bottom line is they want that image to be squeaky clean.”

However, while the move has been applauded by some, it has raised some concerns by others. The biggest is that while Apple removed games like SlideHer, a puzzle that challenged users to reassemble a photograph of a scantily clad actress and Sexy Scratch Off which depicted a woman whose dress could be whisked away at the swipe of a finger, revealing her undergarments, the company did not remove applications by Playboy or for the Sports Illustrated Swim Suit issue.

Some developers see a double standard there and have been complaining about this loudly across the Internet since the move was made.

Many software developers have long complained about Apple’s strict screening process and, at times, seemingly arbitrary decisions about what was acceptable in the App Store. The company’s latest move, which was first reported by TechCrunch, did little to change their minds.

Fred Clarke, co-president of a small software company called On the Go Girls, which made Sexy Scratch Off, said that as of Monday all 50 of his company’s applications were no longer available. They included an application in which a woman wearing a swimsuit appeared to wipe finger marks from the iPhone’s screen with a rag and spray bottle.

“I’m shocked,” said Mr. Clarke, who said the company had not had a problem with its applications since the first one went on sale last June. “We’re showing stuff that’s racier than the Disney Channel, but not by much.”

Mr. Clarke said his company had been earning thousands of dollars a day from the App Store.

“There just seems to be too many of these really simple applications that do nothing but show pictures of girls in bikinis or in suggestive, adult poses,” he said. “It’s cluttering up the App Store.”

Chang acknowledged that Apple’s policies were a little opaque at times.

“Apple needs to be more transparent in how they are applying their policies and communicate that to developers,” he said. “Sports Illustrated still has an application available. How come that hasn’t been pulled?”

When asked about the Sports Illustrated app, Philip W. Schiller, head of worldwide product marketing at Apple said the company took the source and intent of an app into consideration. “The difference is this is a well-known company with previously published material available broadly in a well-accepted format,” he said.