Last month we posted an entertaining five-minute talk by ex-Microsoft employee-turned-iPhone App developer Eugene Lin and his unexpected rise to Japanese porn industry stardom with his suite of Peekaboo applications. His rib-tickling account outlined his entrepreneurial ambition to become a millionaire, 70 US cents at a time.
That ambition has been thwarted by Apple’s recent clean sweep of the App Store, which booted out 5,000 apps deemed to contain overtly sexual content — apparently in response to user complaints — including the entire Peekaboo suite.
Apple’s draconian approach may not come as much of a surprise, however, considering the company’s rapidly growing record of restriction and meticulous monitoring of submissions to the iPhone application store. Think Google Talk and Adobe Flash. Yet, strangely, far more objectionable apps have secured approval from Apple (albeit briefly). The mind boggles.
It’s likely that a proportion of rejected apps, such as Lin’s playful efforts, will find a home elsewhere, possibly underground. This, of course, will encourage more jail-broken phones and blackmarket trade in apps Apple has chosen to exclude. And it leaves the door ajar for Google or another more open company to develop a platform to rival the all-powerful iPhone machine.
