Comments on: Apple nixes 'potentially offensive' South Park app

South Park Studios wanted to let iPhone owners stream show episodes, but Apple rejected the app due to its content despite selling episodes of the show on the iTunes Store.

[gopnick]

Utter supidity. Gosh. Somebody at Apple needs to be fired over all of this.

[mattumanu]

Utter Genius! Gosh. Someboday at Apple needs to be rewarded for all of this!

[catch23]

You paid a lot of money to buy an iPhone, now shut up and use like Apple tells you to.
(They told you that before you bought it. They have made it quite clear waving around the DMCA. You knew it; I just don't want to hear the whining)

[zizzybaloobah]

Apple wants people to purchase the episodes from iTunes - not watch them for free using an app.

[MadLyb]

Exactly.

[Mark_Anderson]

Bingo!

[websterphreaky]

BIG BROTHER APPLE and Greedy Stevie Gods at work again for the people .... err Apple's bank account that is.

[LuvThatCO2]

You know, its funny that Apple essentially launched itself into public notice with a commercial equating its competitors with 1984's Big Brother. Yet in reality, Apple is the biggest control freak in the industry. Growing a goatee out and wearing a black turtle neck certainly makes you look counter-culture, but Apple is anything but.

[homercles82]

Dam this is funny and so true.

[marrlin]

The ONLY thing offensive here is the censorship by Apple. As competition for the iPhone heats up this year; Palm Pre and Android, Apple will hopefully see the error of its ways. I'll peg this one to Al Gore's displeasure with the South Park ManBearPig episode (he's still on the board right?)

[rpfeister]

good one! :)

[Dalkorian]

Don't make fun of ManBearPig. It's very real and very dangerous, I'm super cereal!

:-D

[The_happy_switcher]

No one's missing much if they don't watch South Park. Family Guy is much funnier and has great Bill Gates jokes.

[arburg]

Hey I like them both. This was purely a financial decision. Perhaps you haven't seen "Bigger, Longer, and Uncut" when the army general shoots Bill Gates because of a Windows screw-up. When he did that the entire audience cheered. It was hilarious.

[ibeetle]

I can only assume that the media has gotten it incorrect as to why the App has been rejected.

It is O.K. for Apple to sell obscenity laced music that enforces, rape, torture, murder, and racism?
It is O.K. for Apple to sell horror movies so horrific in their images that the buzz word "torture porn" has been used to describe the film.
It is O.K. for Apple to sell South Park episodes, but...
heaven forbid they allow access to short clips, easily found on YouTube via the iPhone for someone might be offended?

[inachu]

Apple would not care if all Apple employees were atheists.
This makes Appple appear to be controled by one or more fanatical religious groups to put their ideology onto others by refusing to give what consumers want to buy. This why I am happy that some stores are open on christmas.

[dmksaved]

so apple has an rating system for songs but not apps ? If a song is bad it says explicit , but an app will not have that , it just gets banned. What about the songs that have bad language , they are not banned or taken off itunes. This is a double standard. An app is offensive and taken off , but a song that is just as offensive or a music video is not ? I do agree with apple to take explicit apps off the app store, but if there going to do it there , do it everywhere . songs, music videos , etc. the fart app is pretty stupid but funny to people. its not offensive as south park . thats a pretty bad comparison.

[6stringluke]

This isn't about censorship or control. This is about revenue. Simple as that.

[rapier1]

And this makes it acceptable somehow?

[marrlin]

Wrong! It's about censorship. If it continues, and the competition can seize some momentum from this, then possible impact on revenue will hopefully change their behaviour.
This is not acceptable behaviour based on the excuse of objectionable material.

[6stringluke]

Its amazing how much people assume on the internet. Where in my comment did I infer acceptance of their actions?

[B-Ri]

It's interesting to watch how when issues like this come up against Microsoft they are instantly branded as Evil and referred to as M$ but when apple conducts itself in similar ways it's just thrown softball posts like this. I love apple products and will probably still be getting an iPhone when my current contract with Sprint is up, but this is somewhat disappointing to hear.

[Inconnux]

I cant wait for the Palm Pre

[Vegaman_Dan]

Double standards happen when money's involved.

Selling episodes of South Park on iTunes? That makes a lot of money. This is approved.

Approve of an app that would let you see South Park content on your iPhone? Limited monetary benefit to Apple. Application denied.

Unless Apple applies this same censorship for values that they feel is important to maintain on the iPhone to *all* content that they offer through iTunes, then they are guilty of hypocrisy for the greed of the almighty dollar.

Somehow I don't see them deciding to take down all the 'offensive' content from iTunes any time soon.

Aren't double standards fun?

[myles taylor]

You know, I don't think anyone is seeing the flip side of the coin here. Apple sells explicit entertainment on the iTunes store and it's clearly marked. I believe the license agreement states that you are old enough to view/purchase these products.

There is no way on the App store to rate products mature or otherwise. For them to release them to the general public without having such a system in place would be bad practice.

Also, everyone is whining how it's all about money here. Exactly! It's a company; if they weren't all about money then what would they be about? The shareholders count on them making money. The App can't compete with a service Apple already offers. I for one don't see a problem with this.

[Vegaman_Dan]

The Apps Store *did* have just such a rating system in place, but it was taken down by Apple earlier. Their choice.

[Perry_Clease]

"Double standards happen when money's involved. "

Not so much a double standard as a business decision. As you said there is money involved. "Bell, book, and candle, shall not drive me back / When gold and silver becks me to come on"

Try bringing your MacDonalds Happy Meal to consume in The Velvet Rope Restaurant and not ordering off of their menu.

[idfubar]

Is a parody of Apple by South Park Studios now a forgone conclusion?

[seven7dust]

I hope so !
I would kill to see that episode on my Ipod touch just to **** Apple off even more

[renGek]

There are 2 big brothers out there. One call microsoft, the other call apple. One don't give a heck if you call them big brother because they will steam roll you anyway. The other big brother wants you to believe they are just like you and are trendy and stylish and you will be cool if you follow them to paradise and if you do whatever they tell you then its not big brotherish and its ok.

One wears a power suit the other wears a sports coat (perhaps with a pair of matching hush puppies and a messenger bag) but at the end of the day they both go home, count their wallets and you are just a resource to them both.

[HomerJayRI]

Yo mama joke is FUNNY!!