

100,000 people pressure Apple to shut down 'Gay Cure' app - twodayslate
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/mobile/03/22/gay.cure.app.mashable/index.html

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Pieces
People seem to have a hard time understanding that freedom of expression goes
both ways.

Whether or not you agree with the stance the makers of this app take they have
the right to express it, just as gay rights activists can express their side
of the coin.

~~~
gloob
Freedom of expression does not exist in Apple's app store. That has
consistently been my takeaway from previous discussions on this topic, at
least.

~~~
jarin
It would arguably be a violation of Apple's rights to force them to sell
something on the App Store, except where rejecting it would be anticompetitive
behavior. Nobody's stopping the 'Gay Cure' folks from doing it as a web
application instead.

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joshzayin
As a bisexual man (who in no way claims to speak for anyone else), I'm torn on
this.

Of course, I am fully supportive of freedom of expression and the phrase "I
strongly disagree with your opinion but will defend to the death your right to
voice it." But...can you imagine an app claiming to "cure" black people?
That'd never be approved by Apple. "Curing" LGBT people is just as absurd as
"curing" black people. Exposing children to such bigoted, offensive material
is really awful. It should almost certainly not have the 4+ rating, and I'm
really torn on whether Apple should even allow it into the App Store.

Stuff like this isn't just some abstract issue about 'gay rights' with two
equally valid sides of an issue--this homophobia can ruin lives, and sometimes
even result in death. It's really a very emotional issue that can't be easily
dealt with or abstracted into some 'gay rights' issue.

I feel like I didn't express myself as well as I would've liked, so if anyone
has questions, please feel free to ask them.

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olalonde
As much as I don't think one can be cured from homosexuality nor that is a
disease, I don't think it should be Apple's responsibility to decide on moral
issues (although they have an history of doing so). Morality is people's
individual responsibility, not companies, not governments.

~~~
MikeMakesIt
So why are there no porn apps on the app store?

~~~
vacri
The screens get oily enough as it is...

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makecheck
The law against false advertising _probably does apply here_ , and as such the
correct course of action would be to file a suit against the seller. I'd love
to see them try to prove that their method actually "cures" something.

Without this option though, there's not really anything we can do. If someone
believes this is worth selling, and someone else believes this is worth
buying, then we're not in any position to tell them what to do with their
money.

There are all kinds of scams and other ways buyers can get into trouble, and I
certainly won't defend scams (I hate all of them). But in the end it is _the
buyer's responsibility_ to call "B.S." and decide not to buy something. Apple
can't be a parent to everyone. Even if they could be, what would happen as
soon as you step outside the App Store and find something on Amazon or in a
brick and mortar shop?

~~~
bkudria
Unless it's a spiritual cure.

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FirstHopSystems
Apple has taken measures to ensure that the app store is a walled garden. It
has set the bar pretty high compared to other less regulated 'app stores'. It
could be considered a strength/weakness. It is what it is....

If it was an anti-apple app then, @#%& you: Denied! Can't have anything
ruining apples image, everyone else DIAF.

freedom of expression, more like a bigoted attack. This entire story has so
many directions it could go.....

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zdw
See also the discussion from yesterday:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2349531>

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ZeroMinx
This just, again, shows the core problem with censorship. By removing the
right for the user to choose which app to download, Apple takes upon itself to
filter out "inappropriate" apps. Where do you draw the line? To some extent,
something will always offend someone.

~~~
gwright
You draw the line at government control and stop trying to regulate the
activities of private companies and people.

Being able to freely critizise the activities of a private company without
fear of government sanction is what the 1st amendment is about. It is not
about forcing private companies to adhere to any particular person's view of
what they should or shouldn't sell.

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maeon3
I'll bet I could gather up a million people in America who would sign off
their right to freedom of speech for a free Apple product and some free apps.
I'm glad this country is not run by the majority.

Our freedom of expression is worth a million times more than stopping a few
people pushing some evil religious agenda. 50 years from now, these nutbars
will still be with us, voicing new inflammatory messages. The solution is not
to silence them, but to educate everyone so the inflammatory message has no
effect.

~~~
bkudria
It's Apple's platform for "raking in the cash", not your platform for "freedom
of expression."

Apple has a ToS, and Apple isn't censoring (def: "forbid the public
distribution of") anyone.

