 |
Hot Stories
Censorship, Steve Jobs, and Restricted Game Apps
The Sheer Power That is Amy
April 21, 2010
According to Steve Jobs, Google's Android phone is for porn. I'll pause here for those of you who don't already have "The Internet is For Porn" running through your heads to go look it up on YouTube. At first glance, this doesn't seem all that serious of an issue for gamers and your average joe. Is porn on your phone really necessary? How good could it be anyway, on that little tiny screen? But the issue here is a much bigger one. Apple is not merely censoring porn, they are also censoring other things they feel are objectionable, such as apps containing the names of competitors and political satire. When you buy an Internet-ready phone, you aren't really getting all of the Internet. You are getting the parts of the Internet that Apple feels you should see.
Censorship has always been a hot-button issue in America, and this instance is no exception. Censoring rarely stops until the masses protest, and it is likely that more apps will be censored. So what does this mean for gamers? For one thing, porn is a very subjective term. There are many games currently out there that contain nudity and violence, and certainly are not appropriate for children. (Steve Jobs claims to be protecting the children, as he mentions that the Android contains a porn store through which apparently unsupervised children can access porn.) It is true that the iPhone does not have the likes of Dead or Alive:Paradise or God of War, but mobile apps are a huge business that is growing every day. Do you really want Steve Jobs deciding for you which games you can play?
Many apps that were previously available have been pulled, with Apple stating, "Whenever we receive customer complaints about objectionable content we review them. If we find apps that contain inappropriate material we remove them from the App Store and request the developer to make any necessary changes to their apps in order to be distributed by Apple." But who decides what is inappropriate? Someone playing Words With Friends might spell something inappropriate--like porn, for instance--should that app by removed? That dealer on Texas Hold 'em has some cleavage showing--perhaps I am offended? Chances are someone, somewhere is offended by just about everything. Your children might stumble upon those steamy romance novels on your eReader, better censor those too.
The Internet has exploded with posts denouncing Apple's censorship. Twice in recent weeks Steve Jobs has referred to the issue of unsigned apps by stating that, "We do believe we have a moral responsibility to keep porn off the iPhone. Folks who want porn can buy [an] Android phone." Geek humor site eSarcasm has taken up the challenge, stating that censoring porn is akin to censoring free speech. They have even created a downloadable badge that states, "Yes, Steve. I Want Porn." Judging form the backlash forming against Steve Jobs, people have decided that if they pay for a phone that accesses the Internet, they actually want access to the whole Internet.
