“Freelance journalist and data artist Josh Begley has been methodically recording U.S. military drone activity for years,” Jack Smith IV reports for Tech.Mic. “Every week or so — whenever the strikes occur — Begley will post a news story from the @dronestream Twitter account, identifying when and where drone strikes have occurred before feeding the results into an app called Metadata+.”
“But on Sunday, Dronestream tweeted that Metadata+, which sends out push notifications every time there is a U.S. drone strike, had been removed from the App Store after seven months of being openly available,” Smith reports. “Begley will still update followers about the drone strikes via his Twitter account. However, the app’s removal is sudden and inexplicable; it was accepted by the App Store after five attempts.”
“The tech giant has also taken down educational apps that depicted the Confederate Flag in its historical context. All while allowing for apps that include violence and graphic depictions of war, like Hitman: Sniper and Zynga’s Empires and Allies,” Smith reports. “Then again, those apps all include in-app purchases from which Apple collects revenue. And none of them is offensive to the United States government.”
Read more in the full article here.
“In 2012, Begley made an iOS companion app for the Twitter stream that would provide push notifications to keep you abreast of drone attacks around the world (also known as ‘news’), and Apple rejected it five times for being ‘not useful or entertaining enough’ and too narrow in focus,” Sam Biddle reports for Gawker. “Finally, Begley resubmitted the Dronestream app under an unrelated name (‘Metadata+’) and it was approved without hesitation. That was last year.”
Biddle reports, “Over the weekend, Metadata+ users received a push notification from the App Store to alert them that the software had been pulled: ‘Apple has removed Metadata+ from the App Store due to ‘excessively crude or objectionable content.’ Thank you.'”
Biddle writes, “It’s hard to imagine what about national security news presented in text format could be considered ‘crude’ (let alone ‘excessively’ so), and while the idea of extrajudicial killings is objectionable, aggregated news of it happening isn’t.”
“But he also has a backup—an app called ‘Ephemeral’ provides all the drone news functionality of Metadata+, but has evaded Apple’s scrutiny because its App Store entry consists of nothing but placeholder art and text. That the following would get a thumbs up from Apple after Begley was turned down so many times before tells you much about how the company operates,” Biddle reports. “Download it here before the craven Cupertino decency squad deems it objectionable.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The continued arbitrariness of Apple’s App Store reviewers’ decision-making process continues to perplex.
Censorship!
Censorship is commonly understood to mean official government filtering of information; not content control for a private entity. Although technically, Apple is a public company, it is still not a state institution; it is a business, which makes decisions they think are the best for the business.
This is your daily ammunition for Fandroids against Apple. We need to put this in perspective, though. The App store currently has over 1.5 million apps. Each and every one of them had to be approved by someone. If it takes 10 minutes to review an app, that would mean 250,000 man-hours, which is 31,250 working days which comes down to about 120 man-years (weekends not counted). There is bound to be some arbitrary decisions in the process, considering that these 1,5m are just the approved ones.
I respectfully disagree with you narrow definition of censorship. The term applies to all outlets of information of information including entertainment media, news, as well as Government directed actions. The vast majority of censorship in the United States is not done by Government mandate but is self imposed by Hollywood and the media elite of news organizations. It is more pervasive than most people realize.
Banning the App is not the root of the censorship, banning alternate stores is.
For many people, this is precisely the value-added benefit of Apple’s complete control: if they get an iDevice, they KNOW that every single app that is on that phone has been inspected by a live Apple employee and approved, and that there would be no way to circumvent that process (short of jailbreaking). If a user really wants an alternate store, they can jailbreak. Apple made this a tall obstacle, so that only those who are clearly determined and know exactly what they are doing would bother. For most of the rest, this is what makes Apple actually attractive — complete lockdown.
And those people could choose to get their wares exclusively through Apple. That’s a choice, not IT level fiat over one’s own property.
Still, would you feel the same way if they did the same policies on your Mac?
I’m not sure you understood what is the argument here. The fact that the only apps that can get to their phone are the ones vetted by Apple is what many people find very reassuring. For quite many, it is quite plausible that, if such restriction wasn’t in place, that they would be able to accidentally download a malicious app. Many are generally scared of such a prospect (most ordinary people I know have the same constant fear on their desktop, even on a Mac).
I’m pretty sure large number of people would be thrilled to know the same restrictions were implemented on the Mac. After all, in Yosemite (and possibly prior versions), you have to manually change security settings in order to be able to install apps that aren’t on Mac App Store. And most people don’t even bother with this change. This is essentially one small step away from locking down the Mac for all outside apps.
Just asking to be able to set my own security settings on iOS as well. These are computers after all, and it’s not fair that the frightened inhibit the bold.
I know, but Apple will do what they think is best for their business. Some of us will be forced to accept compromise, and unfortunately, that is the price will have to pay for the convenience of using Apple gear.
PS-and that still doesn’t justify censorship. Apple vetted this “drone app” didn’t they?
It doesn’t. They obviously did, and then somebody decided that it shouldn’t be there. It’s annoying.
Thanks for a pleasant, and positive, dialogue.
Not censorship, but acquiescence. Apple willingly kisses the ring and submits.
I Love You SO Much Fred..
You Douche Bag.
Apple kisses the ring, but you may kiss my ass, fanboi.
He can’t while your head is shoved in there, Nancy.
Maybe my tin-foil hat is on a little too tight today, but I smell some government involvement in this decision by Apple.
Showing this information to the common man serves no real purpose. Some folks have a strange way of entertaining themselves. Good for Apple!
That’s right, mfdcap. You’re too stupid to think for yourself, better to let others to think for you. Now, be a pleasant little drone and go back to your servile life.
Go fuck yourself Fred. I could fucking care less where the drone strikes are.
Hey Fred, what do you say you hop a plane to Edmonton, Canada. I’ll meet you in the airport parking lot and we can have a man to man chat.
Please, send me ticket – if it means that much to you. I suppose that you will be the guy in a skirt.
Now, if you could only improve your grammar. It’s “I couldn’t care less” not “I could care less”. Got it?
Hop a plane big mouth. Hop a plane
Wouldn’t that be hop into a plane? Do you 51st staters prefer to fly on the wings?
That’s what I thought Fred. You’re all talk. Come visit me sometime. I’ll be the guy at the airport holding the sign that says Fred.
Send the ticket.
That’s what I thought Fred. You’re all talk. Come visit me sometime. I’ll be the guy at the airport holding the sign that says Fred.
What if he WAS in a skirt? What’s the implication there, exactly? You try so hard to look intelligent, then you state something so mind-numbingly neanderthal as that skirt comment. SMH
He’d be a pillow biter then wouldn’t he.
Oh please!!!! It’s “I couldn’t care less” you thicko, numbskull Americans!
PC gone amok.
Taken in context, who’s to say Apple hasn’t given the NSA, keys to the back door?
Shhh, let that be our little secret!
Fred the moron!
mfdcap gets a little grouchy when he hasn’t had his nap time.
That’s what I thought Fred. You’re all talk. Come visit me sometime. I’ll be the guy at the airport holding the sign that says Fred.
“Send a ticket.” Are these three words too difficult for you to understand? Read more slowly, this may help you with your limited comprehension. If you want to meet me just send-a-ticket. Simple!
That’s what I thought Fred. You’re all talk. Come visit me sometime. I’ll be the guy at the airport holding the sign that says Fred.
Just downloaded the other app and there’s like weeks of time between drone strikes. All the app does is prove Obama isn’t using drones enough. What a pussy.
What’s that sound, R2? Better run!
“And none of them is offensive to the United States government.”
Wow, something that isn’t offensive to the united states government. I knew there would be an app for that.
#MyStupidGovernment destroying government transparency again.
Little peasants: You will be kept ignorant and placid, like it or not!