Professional satirists officially recognised by Apple
September 17, 2010 in News
Facing criticism for rejecting (and later approving) a number of caricature-based iPhone apps, Apple has changed it’s terms and conditions to specifically exempt professional satirists. As reported by The Daily Cartoonist the two new clauses in their guidelines for new apps read:
14.1 Any app that is defamatory, offensive, mean-spirited, or likely to place the targeted individual or group in harms way will be rejected
14.2 Professional political satirists and humorists are exempt from the ban on offensive or mean-spirited commentary
As pointed out by the Daily Cartoonist and MAD Magazine caricaturist Tom Richmond (who previously had an app rejected and later approved) this still leaves open the question: how does Apple define a professional satirist?
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Richmond’s application or App, which is called called Bobble Rep, allows users to find the names and contact details for any of the 540 US congressmen and women currently in office. It was rejected on the grounds that it “contains content that ridicules public figures and is in violation of Section 3.3.14 from the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement.”
All iPhone applications have to be approved by Apple before they can be sold and installed on individual iPhones or iPod Touch. This decision may set a precedent for other cartoonists keen on moving into the lucrative iPhone app market.
Since posting about this on Monday, Richmond’s story has been picked up by columnists for CNN, the New York Times and MacWorld. US cartoon agency Cagle.com has also revealed it has a product in development with Apple.
Tags: Apple, iPhone, iPod Touch, iTunes, Mad, Mad magazine, Tom Richmond 2 Comments »