Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone, App Store
Apple blocks streaming South Park app
There's yet another case of heavy handedness from Apple in rejecting potential apps from the iPhone store. The creators of South Park have put almost all of their back episodes online at South Park Studios for Flash-based streaming, and last year it was announced to fans that they would be putting together an iPhone app to give mobile users access to that content.Now Boing Boing is reporting that the app is "dead in the water" because Apple has rejected it twice for being "potentially offensive." Goodness knows there's a lot of offensive content on the App Store, so it's really hard to see how Apple is holding any kind of line of good taste here (if that even applies in this case). Boing Boing's original post from last year announcing the app reveals something of how nice the interface was going to be. I can't help but hope that the evolving standards of the app store that eventually allowed in applications like RSS Player (which was previous banned as Podcaster) will come round for the South Park app. I can just hear Cartman yelling for his mom.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Jim said 9:48AM on 2-18-2009
You don't think a show that features a piece of fecal matter as a character crosses any bounds of good taste? What, then, would it take for that line to be crossed?
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ack154 said 9:50AM on 2-18-2009
And like someone else mentioned... 30 different fart apps don't cross any sort of line? Honestly if they allow that many fart apps, I better be able to watch some damn South Park.
Almerica said 9:21AM on 2-18-2009
I think they let Rss Player in because they already had there own implementation.
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Eric Cartman said 10:23AM on 2-18-2009
If you read the South Park web site it saying nothing about streaming full episodes rather clips from episodes and other features.
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ack154 said 10:34AM on 2-18-2009
What are you talking about? southparkstudios.com has had almost all of the FULL episodes online for quite a while now. And it is run by the people the make South Park - so not even some random person putting the episodes on some video service for others. This is the real deal.
Eric Cartman said 11:31AM on 2-18-2009
The application was meant to show clips... not full episodes. I was not referring to the web site...
ack154 said 11:34AM on 2-18-2009
Ooh. My mistake. Wasn't sure what website you were talking about.
Jan said 9:28AM on 2-18-2009
Steve Jobs doesn't like South Park it seems.
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KomputarGuy said 9:31AM on 2-18-2009
This is ridiculous, Apple needs to loosen the reigns a bit. This is offensive but over 30 fart apps aren't? Gimme a break. This is exactly why I own a jailbroken iPhone.
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Eric said 10:53AM on 2-18-2009
Seriously. I find FART apps way more offensive than jiggling boobs (which was denied) or Southpark.
s said 4:34PM on 2-18-2009
I don't understand why they sell the TV show but won't allow the app.
Taylor said 5:15AM on 2-27-2009
@s
Perhaps that's the issue. They can make money SELLING people the episodes, but if they made an iPhone app with unlimited streaming of practically any past episode, Apple stands to lose $$$
Johnzim said 9:31AM on 2-18-2009
*sigh* Dumb move.
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Kyle said 9:54AM on 2-18-2009
This isn't a question of what's offensive. The problem is they aren't letting their users decide for themselves, which, for me, is a huge strike and always has been. It's on cable television and it's like that. You don't like the show, don't download the application. Who was going to download the application and then find out they are offended?
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Jim said 10:14AM on 2-18-2009
Sorry Kyle, but your reasoning would allow for rape movies, snuff films, and Muslim beheadings. Like everyone else, Apple has to draw lines somewhere, but you don't like the particular ones they have drawn in this regard.
Question: Exactly where would you draw the line, given boundaries of South Park on one side and snuff films (videos of real murders) on the other? And try to avoid the "you can't legislate morality" argument, since every law on the books is someone's moral code put into law.
Sorry to seem combative. Guess that's the hazard of comment boxes.
Beanie said 10:21AM on 2-18-2009
@Jim
You've never seen south park, have you? Of course you haven't, like everyone else who is trying to force their own beliefs down someone else's throat. Also, comparing South Park to beheading videos, you sir.. are a moron.
Kyle said 10:31AM on 2-18-2009
Didn't I clarify that it [the show] was on cable tv. I don't think they show porn, beheadings and the like on tv. And if they do, you have to pay more and sign up.
Moreover, one can find all of those things on the internet on their Mobile Safari. So, perhaps Mobile Safari should be taken off because someone *might* be offended with what they find.
The line most certainly isn't something that's on television which has it's own moral standards and decency policing.
And you never addressed the "change the channel" argument. I can only conclude that you will complain to Time Warner that South Park is offending people in your house unaware that you can simply change the channel. Same thing with apps. Don't like it or offended? Don't download it.
It's about choice. And Apple isn't letting choice happen. This is the one area where they're just letting Android come in and take market share.
Jools said 10:36AM on 2-18-2009
@jim
As far as I know "rape movies, snuff films, and Muslim beheadings" are illegal and feature real people doing those illegal things, which is why they're not in iTunes.
However, South Park is a cartoon, with cartoon characters who don't really get hurt, no matter what antics they get up to. Kenny has been beheaded more than once!
Although South Park may feature some illegal doings, I don't think they've featured rape, snuff and Muslim beheadings" yet.
Dan said 9:56AM on 2-18-2009
OH NOES. There's also a lot of potentially offensive content on the Internet -- better strip Safari off the phone, too! Man, I love Apple products, but the people running the show can be pretty obtuse at times.
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eric f. said 10:01AM on 2-18-2009
if they have "Explicit" labels for iTunes content, why can't they have it for iPhone apps?
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