“I know it when I see it.”
That’s Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s definition of obscenity, a key ingredient of what is porn and what is not. But Justice Potter was virtually blind when he said this.
Despite developer guidelines for Android Market, Google has been virtually blind to some of the racier apps offered. Material “not suitable for persons under 18” or apps with “pornography, obscenity, nudity or sexual activity” have been available because the Android Market doesn’t require an approval process, unlike Apple’s App Store.
Apple is renowned for rejecting iPhone developer apps for many reasons, not just NSFW content. The Android Market has more of a free market approach. You can find content “utterly without redeeming social value,” as well as nonworking apps, low quality badware, and some products which could be downright dangerous to your phone or data.
Last week, 4000 apps from “For-side.com Co. Ltd” were removed from the Market. Then, StoneJordan’s 500 apps vanished as well. Both developers provided the kind of apps you wouldn’t demonstrate to your grandmother. Is Google now enforcing some of its content policy?
Steve Jobs, explaining Apple’s rigorous content policy for the App Store, declaimed: “We do believe we have a moral responsibility to keep porn off the iPhone. Folks who want porn can buy and (sic) Android phone.”
Well, Steve, now where can we buy it?