Apple rejects e-reader because sexual material in classic literature

The Apple App Store has rejected ‘Eucalyptus — classic books, to go’ an e-reader which allows users to download free public domain books from Project Gutenberg, because some classic literature contains sexual references.

Bewildered programmers received the following notification from Apple: “Thank you for submitting Eucalyptus — classic books, to go. to the App Store. We’ve reviewed Eucalyptus — classic books, to go. and determined that we cannot post this version of your iPhone application to the App Store because it contains inappropriate sexual content and is in violation of Section 3.3.12 from the iPhone SDK Agreement which states:

‘Applications must not contain any obscene, pornographic, offensive or defamatory content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, etc.), or other content or materials that in Apple’s reasonable judgement may be found objectionable by iPhone or iPod touch users’.”

Call me a stuffy old traditionalist, but I remember (and by remember, I mean – have read about) a time when, if a book was thought to be obscene, we had something called a trial. Like, I don’t know, the trial of Penguin Books for publishing Lady Chatterly’s Lover – in 1959. If they weren’t guilty then, how, HOW can things have regressed to such a degree that a mobile phone manufacturer is preventing people from reading whatever they flipping please on their phones?

Apple go find a mirror and take a long hard look at yourself in it. Have a think about your ‘reasonable judgement’. What are you becoming Apple?

(Via boingboing)