Updating in November to support Apple’s iPhone 5, premium photo-sharing service 500px was pulled from the iTunes App Store earlier this week, after an Apple spokesperson released a statement which suggested the company had received a number of complaints from users, relating to the app seemingly giving easy access to ‘nude’ photos, and (possible) pornography.
Citing the app, in its current form, was considered “a clear violation of [its] guidelines,” Apple noted that the app has been pulled from the store due to “customer complaints about possible child pornography.”
According to Apple’s spokesperson:
The app was removed from the App Store for featuring pornographic images and material, a clear violation of our guidelines. We also received customer complaints about possible child pornography. We’ve asked the developer to put safeguards in place to prevent pornographic images and material in their app.
Apple’s guidelines do explicitly state that apps containing “pornographic material,” defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “explicit descriptions or displays of sexual organs or activities intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings”, will be rejected.
In addition to this, the guidelines also state that apps that contain “user generated content” that is “frequently pornographic” (ex. “Chat Roulette”-like apps), will also be rejected.
Responding to the allegations and the pulling of the service’s official application, 500px this week issued the following statement, reenforcing its strong views towards this kind of material potentially showing up across its service(s).
We take the issue of child pornography incredibly seriously. There has never been an issue or one complaint to us about child pornography. Although it has never happened, a complaint of this nature would be taken very seriously and would immediately be escalated to appropriate law enforcement agency. In all our conversations with Apple a concern about child exploitation was never mentioned.
500px has reportedly been told to go away and ensure the necessary safe-guards are put into place, in order to try and prevent such a situation arising again. It is so far unclear if (or when) the app will be allowed back onto the iTunes App Store.
/ TNW
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