

Nudity, e-books and censorship: How Apple became Big Brother - rmk2
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/nudity-e-books-and-censorship-how-apple-became-big-brother/article5541912/

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Cookingboy
Apple is not censoring anything, they are only regulating what can be sold in
their store. They do not have a monopoly/single-handed-control on eBook
distribution, let alone publishing in general. Your local Barnes & Noble
probably does not carry hardcore porn, but it would be crazy to call B&N's
policy being some form of malicious censorship.

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cgranade
Given that they have unilateral control as to what can be installed on non-
jailbroken devices, that's rather a cop-out. Apple does have a complete
monopoly on content that can be purchased for use with iOS devices. If you
don't like B&N's policies, you can very often find another retailer with
better policies, but this is not at all the case if you are looking for
software compatible with iOS.

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Cookingboy
So? Accusing Apple having a monopoly on iOS contents regulation is like
complaining Honda having a monopoly on Civic's engine parts (Yes, there are
after-market parts, and yes, those WILL void any factory warranty). They make
their own devices and they can decide however they want to regular its
hardware/software/ecosystem, but they don't have a monopoly on mobile
electronics so you are free to choose any alternatives. Calling a company
having a monopoly over their own product is simply silly.

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csense
Competition is the answer. If Apple isn't interested in your particular
content, put it on Android.

The article is a great example of why developers should be cautious of the
iPhone: The developer invests substantial resources up-front, and it's a
crapshoot whether your app gets accepted or stays accepted.

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antidoh
"Who appointed Apple the globe’s moral arbiter?"

We did.

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SpikeDad
I'm sure you mean this in the vein of "Apple is controlling the App Store so
they're evil" but in reality you should be thinking "Apple is controlling the
App Store because if they didn't they would be sued over and over again by
posting adult-themed apps because the US is a) puritan and b) lawsuit crazy".

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antidoh
No, Apple can do what they want. We make them the censor to the extant that we
rely on them for distribution.

As for lawsuits, I doubt that B&N would be sued if they offered this book in
hardcover, coffee table format. Which is probably a better format for
something like this anyway.

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taligent
And how is this any different from your average book or video store ?

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calciphus
Because you can purchase other books and content from other places. This would
be more like your DVD player not allowing you to play any content rated above
R, and blacking out breasts in any context, even documentaries. And not
telling you it did this when you bought it.

This isn't about Apple blocking hardcore or even softcore apps (as is
mentioned, they allow Playboy). It's about them blocking history books from
publication based on an extremely narrow definition of adult content.

