Apple initially rejected James Montgomerie's Eucalyptus, an iPhone app that functions as an e-reader, from the App Store. It claimed the app's ability to download the Kama Sutra meant it contained "inappropriate sexual content," but after Montgomerie pressed the company over the issue, Apple seemed to relent. Apple has faced criticism over its filtering of apps for inappropriate content, most notably with the semi-infamous "baby shaker" incident.
Days after rejecting an e-reader from its App Store on the grounds that it
could potentially download the Kama Sutra, a classical text with some sexual
content,
Apple
relented and made the app, named Eucalyptus, available to users.
The app lets users search for classical, rights-free texts and download them
from the
Project Gutenberg's database,
which features 28,000 free volumes in its online book catalog.
According to James Montgomerie, developer of the Eucalyptus app, Apple
initially rejected Eucalyptus on the grounds that it contained
"inappropriate sexual content."
In a May 21
blog posting, Montgomerie
described writing back to Apple, defending his app on the grounds that it
"simply provides an interface for searching an [Internet] archive of
classic books."
Apple initially appeared unmoved, repeating that the app violated Section
3.3.12 of the iPhone SDK Agreement, which forbids "obscene, pornographic,
offensive or defamatory content or materials of any kind."
But then the company seemed to change its mind.
"Earlier today I received a phone call from an Apple
representative," Montgomerie wrote in a May 24 blog posting. "He was
very complementary about Eucalyptus. We talked about the confusion surrounding
its App Store rejections, which I am happy to say is now fully resolved."
The full version of Eucalyptus was approved after that conversation, and can
be downloaded from the App Store.
Apple
has already courted controversy over its app approval process. In April
2009, Apple removed a "Baby Shaker" application, which let users
"shake" a virtual infant quiet, after substantial protests.
At the time, Apple representatives gave no comment on how that app had
passed the initial review process. In the past, it has rejected apps such as
"Slasher," which let users run around with a virtual knife.
Apple
eventually released an apology on April 23, stating that the
"application was deeply offensive and should not have been approved for
distribution on the App Store."
According to the company, there are some 17 million iPhone users in 80
countries. Ten months after the App Store's July 2008 launch,
over
1 billion apps had been downloaded.
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