Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple Corporate, iTS, Podcasting
iTMS dropping mature content?
Xeni over at Boing Boing is reporting that "adult" podcasts are being dropped from the iTMS, and adult podcasters are gnashing their teeth and rending their, er, bodices. It's not entirely clear what's happening, though. After reading Xeni's piece, I swung by the iTMS: all 13 casts of Violet Blue's Open Source Sex (one of the authors who talked to Xeni) seem to be there, and a search for "sex" returns 25 hits. I'm sure that represents only a fraction of the kinky things people are doing with their iPods, but it hardly looks like a crackdown in progress. Still, it's an interesting question, and I'd be curious to know how our readers feel: should Apple be making "explicit" and "mature content" casts available? If not, where and how should they draw the line? Personally, I think it's a tough call. I'm a firm believer in free speech, but I have sympathy for Apple's need to protect its reputation and not open itself up to liability. All in all, I'd say the fact that the conversation is taking place is a prime example of why I get nervous when corporations, especially ones positioned for radical influence, get involved in the distribution of free content. And of why we need to watch closely how all this develops, because there's more at stake than just RSS specs. For now, though, I guess the question is: will the iTunes Phones have a vibrate setting?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kacy said 4:43PM on 7-07-2005
it is a very tough call. but as i recall early on steve jobs was clear to say that explicit podcasts would not be listed on the directory. i believe that apple has every right to not list them, but that does not mean that i think they shouldn't. maybe apple can resolve this by offering some sort of rating system.
the advantage of being listed by apple is great. since my musical alter-ego's podcast got listed the amount of downloads increased a 100 fold. now i will have to pay for more bandwidth.
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William said 5:14PM on 7-07-2005
It is well known in the industry that if you work with Disney (Disney Radio, ABC, ESPN, etc.) you will ALWAYS have pressure, if not contractual requirements to remove 'adult content.'
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Tim O. said 5:19PM on 7-07-2005
They should not have "mature" content at all for podcasts. If someone wants a mature podcast they can subscribe manually.
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Andrew Kaufmann said 5:26PM on 7-07-2005
I agree with Tim. People should be able to make adult Podcasts, and people should be allowed to download them, by all means, but I think Apple would be wise in not being the conduit. There are other channels for that sort of thing.
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Rich H. said 5:33PM on 7-07-2005
I think there's an answer here that might satisfy some or all of us. I'm uncomfortable with just anyone having access to some of the podcasts in the directory. Perhaps Apple could incorporate an age verification scheme for explicit podcasts? They're probably going to have to do this anyway when it comes to a video store, so why not start now?
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chet said 6:03PM on 7-07-2005
Free speech is nice and all, but free speech applies to the government. Not to private businesses. If a private business wants to limit speech they have all the rights to do that.
Like some people have said, Apple is only refusing to advertise adult content on their music store, which I think is a GREAT policy. Better to be safe than have parents stop buying iPods for their kids...
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chris rockwell said 6:15PM on 7-07-2005
My podcast "the Daily Download" was in the top 60 podcasts on iTunes until yesterday... when I was removed from the site. My podcast is not a porn podcast, all I do is poop and talk. But for some reason it was pulled.... still waiting to hear from Apple why my show was pulled.
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Iso Grifo said 6:34PM on 7-07-2005
I think people fail to realize that freedom of speech does not mean every merchant has to provide content their company does not agree with. I don't see anything wrong with a company (ie. Wal-Mart) determining what they feel is appropriate for their store. Where should Apple draw the line, you ask? Where ever they feel like it. If Steve Jobs decides he is a liberal and therefore will only offer liberal leaning podcasts on iTunes, that is his right.
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Kyle Brown said 7:00PM on 7-07-2005
Let someone else support the adult content. Soon enough, there will be other mass media services that offer podcasts as well. Let them be the ones to experiment with the adult content and the rection of users.
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Jabrwock said 7:19PM on 7-07-2005
It's not like Apple's restricting mature podcasts, they're just refraining from listing them. If you find the caster's site and grab the URL, iTunes will still subscribe you to the cast. It'll just be a little more difficult to find the podcast in the first place. So determined children will still find them, but anyone browsing Apple's lists won't "accidentaly" trip over them.
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germ said 11:19PM on 10-25-2005
I am appalled at all the comments against adult content. I for one am happy to find mature content in the podcast directory at Apple. To all the drones who recite the "a company can do whatever they want" mantra: How sad that most US companies settle for such low standards. It looks like Apple has chosen the higher ground by still carrying such content but labelling it as explicit. I value this as opposed to the bland homgeneization of mass culture you can see at places like Walmart. Bleah!
To all who want to "protect the children": They are doing just fine without protection, thank you very much. If you fear the freedom of your kids to freely browse the net, YOU HAVE FAILED AS A PARENT TO EDUCATE THEM. Period.
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Steve M said 11:05PM on 7-07-2005
Apple absolutely has the right to limit what gets posted on their content management system. Folks who want this content will find it, but it will eliminate a ton of headaches for them if they don't post the material directly. Making the judgement call will be tough, and some of the providers will claim 'censorship,' but it is the right thing to do.
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Travis said 1:16AM on 7-08-2005
I Think there needs to be some kind of way of restricting access of podcasts from those who are underage. Since there's no regulations for podcasts (hopefully there never will) you could have a podcast of just people having sex. Yeah there's an explicit tag, but that doesn't do much to block underage people. Requiring another credit card validation would be ideal (keep the casts free but just have an Adult section which requires a 2nd CC validation)
But when you think about it..."Adult" materials get into kids hands every single day.... What's to stop them from typing the Podcast name into Google and finding the direct RSS link... So there isn't much that can really be done. At the same time i can see a parent finding in their Child's iTMS library something like "Open Source Sex" and filing a lawsuit against apple.
So apple needs to find out where to cut their losses.... Dump "Adult" podcasts, or have the possibility of being sued by a disgruntled parent when it's their fault for not watching them.
If i were Steve, I'd leave them. Put them in their own category, and if they get sued... Blame the parents.
Just my 2 cents.
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daddydoodaa said 8:55AM on 7-08-2005
Kids can download explicit songs from iTunes. If they know what "explicit" means they will figure out to find it - if they want. Kids can find porno in Google.
The purpose of the itunes with PodCasts is to make information "easy" to find. People are interested in sexuallity. Some want to talk about it like a textbook; others want to be titillated.
Don't trust a corporation to raise yor children. Talk to your kids and take care of them. If you can't trust them, don't let them on the internet
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Jay Savage said 10:13AM on 7-08-2005
chet, Iso, and Co.:
I guess this is the heart of the matter. What is Apple's role in Podcasting? What service do they provide to the public by offering free podcasts through the iTMS? Is it a way for podcasters and potential audiences to connect? Is it just a gimick to get more people into the iTMS? Did building support for podcast subscriptions require putting podcasts in the iTMS or proprietary extensions to the RSS spec?
On the surface, these are relatively unimportant questions. There's nothing wrong with a coporation engaging in clever marketing. And Apple had every right to do pretty much whatever they want with their services and technologies.
But for me, the whole situation becomes much more complicated when we ask ourselves the following:
Does being listed in the iTMS give a podcaster an advantage in terms of exposure? Will Apple's corporate decisions affect the podcasting environment? Does Apple have enough clout that its decisions will influence the way this fledgeling technology develops?
I believe that the answer to all three questions is a firm "yes". And that means the decsisions Apple makes in the next weeks and months have far more import than simply the way they affect Apple's bottom line. I actually think it was a really gutsy move: adding rss support to iTunes was brilliant; adding feeds to the iTMS seems like a headache. But if they do it right, they'll be remembered for bringing podcasting to the public.
I also think there's been a little confusion in this conversation about the differnce between iTunes and the iTMS. The question wasn't whether Apple should allow adult content in iTunes, but whether they should allow it in the iTMS-listed podcasts.
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otakucode said 11:21AM on 7-08-2005
Who gets to decide what is "mature" content? If I had a kid, then they'd be mature enough for sexual content by the time they are 12 or 13 because I'd raise them correctly and not ignore the simple fact that the purpose of puberty is to enable them to have sex. So I wouldn't consider sexual content adult-only. Obviously a lot of misguided people would. But who gets to choose?
One of the things I found really neat when looking through the features of Tiger when it came out (I'm a PC user, but saving for a Mac) was the parental control. It was a so simple! Why can't they do the exact same thing here? If a kid clicks on a podcast and wants to subscribe, it asks the parent for permission. The parent reviews the podcast then gives thumbs up or thumbs down. No big deal. My kids get to understand their bodies and everything happening to them as they grow, your kids get to stay in the dark and experiment with each other leading to teen pregnancies and STDs. Everyone is happy.
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Max said 3:59PM on 7-08-2005
My podcast (MXL spice UP your SEX life SHOW) was among the top podcasts on iTunes until it was removed yesterday (the podcast is properly tagged "explicit").
I noticed that the Violet Blue Open Source Sex wasn't listed anymore and I contacted her ( http://violetblue.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=9417&comments=on - message posted on Thu, 7/7 07:31 AM EDT)
By the end of the day Violet's podcast was back in the top 100, mine is still not accessible: top 100 or directory - don't know why?
Max
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Tim O. said 11:45AM on 7-10-2005
I still think my earlier point is the most valid. Parents can filter things on the internet. They can use Apple's parental controls, or block things through the router. The thing they can not block, is iTunes content, at least not without blocking iTunes altogether. If Apple does not remove all "adult" content altogether then they should at least mark it explicit. At that point they should give the system administrator the option to disallow the download of explicit content. That is a simple solution to a complicated problem, at least in my opinion.
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Ron Evry said 2:43PM on 8-26-2005
I have no problem with explicit podcasts, but I would like a feature to be made available to hide them from users of iTunes, so the ITMS can be used as an educational resource in public schools.
This would not be a difficult feature for Apple to put into iTunes.
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