Developer Swamiware recently learned that their latest submission to the App Store was rejected. Called ‘Obama Trampoline’, the whimsical little app lets you choose from a screen full of politicians, both Republican and Democratic, and have that politician bounce around on a trampoline within the oval office. You can control the politician by swiping, tilting and shaking your iPhone. Good for a laugh, right?
I’d drop this app into the ‘good, clean fun’ category myself, but apparently Apple does not agree. Their official word on the matter:
…it contains content that ridicules public figures and is in violation of Section 3.3.12 from the iPhone SDK Agreement which states:
“Applications must not contain any obscene, pornographic, offensive or defamatory content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, etc.), or other content or materials that in Apple’s reasonable judgement may be found objectionable by iPhone or iPod touch users.”
Take a moment and watch the preview video below to judge for yourself:
OK, I suppose there is a ‘touch’ of ridicule in there, just a tiny bit. But I guarantee if you handed this app over to the politicians included in the app… 9 out of 10 of them would have a good chuckle!
Apple must be thinking… ‘If we let this one in… what’s next?’… Also, I wonder if former Vice-President Al Gore was a factor in this decision at all. He sits on the board of directors at Apple… and was a staunch Obama supporter. Food for thought 🙂
What do YOU think of this app? Should it have been rejected? Or does Apple need to lighten up?
[Via: TechCrunch]