It seems that everyone already has a iPhone these day, or they’re going to get one. The Apple iPhone is arguably one of the hottest and most sought after tech tools on the planet. The functionality of the iPhone has simply raised the bar for just about any other personal communication device out there.
One of the best things about owning an iPhone is the App Store, a virtual candy store of just about any sort of application one may want or need, ready to run on the iPhone. There are applications like Pandora that supply a constant stream of new music from favorite artists. There’s Midomi and Shazam, programs that can identify any song on the radio by just holding the iPhone next to a speaker. The iPhone can even be used to find nearby restaurants and bars, complete with the latest reviews.
The Apple App Store Approval Process
Apple has long been a stickler for the type of content it will allow to be made available to consumers on the App Store. Over the years, it seems that Apple has been notoriously strict as well as unpredictable in the process to review and approve applications for the iPhone. The system seems to have worked because iPhone owners love the App Store even though Apple recently purged more than 5,000 sexually suggestive applications from the iPhone App Store. Apple claims that with new innovation comes new responsibility towards maintaining a family–frinedly application environment.
For the most part, no sexually suggestive content is not allowed. According to an aritcle in the Huffington Post titled, “Apple BANS Apps That Criticize Public Figures,” Steve Jobs has told customers that “folks who want porn can buy an Android.” Apple is very insistent that the applications it allows on the iPhone are useful to people. Even so, Apple did not remove Playboy or Sport’s Illustrated’s swimsuit applications from the iPhone App Store.
Cartoonist Mark Fiore’s iPhone App Store Journey
According to his website, Mark Fiore is a cartoonist who worked for the San Jose Mercury News, and now “creates animated political cartoons from an undisclosed location somewhere in San Francisco.” Fiore’s work has appeared in numerous online news web sites. He was awarded several awards for his cartooning work including the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning.
It’s that Pulitzer that has made the difference for Fiore and the App Store. When Fiore first submitted his NewsToons application to the App Store, it was rejected last December because of Apple’s developer agreement which does not allow for lampooning of public figures and personalities. Since then, Apple has had a change of heart and has now allowed Fiore’s NewsToons application to appear in the App Store.
Apple has made it difficult for other similar cartoonists to get their apps past censors and into the App Store. Whatever their reason, Apple has changed their tune and has indeed allowed free speech to be made available on the App Store. Mark Fiore has stated in the New York Times that his case has brought some very important free speech issues to light. Of course, Apple can set it’s own rules for these type of programs allowed on the iPhone or any other technolgy. Apparently it can bend those rules as well.
Sources:
- NYTimes.com; Apple Allows a Cartoon App, and a Glimpse of Free Speech (accessed April 27,2010)
- MarkFiore.com; About Mark Fiore (accessed April 27, 2010)