Apple has been rather adamant about censoring offensive content from its mobile devices, which is kind of weird when you consider something like 99 percent of iPhones are loaded to the gills with dick pics, sexts and X-rated snapchats.
Unfortunately, this has in the past led to app developers censoring words like “lesbian,” “gay” and “bisexual” by accident. Well, apparently Apple learned nothing from the last time it flagged those words for censorship, because after threatening to reject the LGBT history app Quist over using the word “bisexual” in its description, a change.org petition was created to (successfully!) convince Apple to change its policy.
When Quist’s owner updated the text of the App Store description on August 12, 2013, she received the following message in iTunes Connect:
“The following is not recommended for use in this field: bisexual.
Your app may be rejected if you use this term.” Apple, “bisexual” is not a dirty word. It is the identity of millions of people. Your company has said it is pro-LGBT and proven it with action many times. Show it in all of your policies, including acceptable language for your App Store.
I understand that when you’re trying to make sweeping blanket policies, certains Is will remain undotted and Ts uncrossed, but how many times has this happened so far? How many times do we need to go through this same song-and-dance number before you get it?
We should be careful about what content kids are able to get their hands on, but this treats sexual minorities as single-minded, teaches kids that sex and sexuality is something to be ashamed of, and restricts the exchange of ideas and services in the name of (the illusion of) safety. You have to stop treating orientation as something that is the sole property of those 18 and older.
[Image via NatalieDee]
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