Chaos At The Apple (AAPL) App Store As Nudity Programs Disappear

Software applications which allowed owners of Apple (AAPL) iPhones to download pornography have started to disappear from the firm’s huge App Store which now has more than 50,000 offerings.

According toThe Washington Post,  Apple’s rules do allow for program that include nudity, so it is not clear what happened to the lewd content. The porno firms say that  they had to cut access to the products because their servers could not take the demand.

Apple may be running into the same trouble that Microsoft (MSFT) did with its Bing search engine. The product made it easier for users to get to pornographic material. Apparently,  Microsoft set up programs to help block that access.

So, does Apple allow nudity and pornography to be downloaded to its iPhone or not? No one has a good answer to that question. It is certainly possible that public interest groups have been pressuring the company to cut off access to content that could be seen by children and people who object to pornography. Apple certainly does not want groups boycotting its stores or AT&T’s (T) and agitating to get consumers to stop visiting the Apple website to buy products. A sharp and negative reaction to apps that allow the download of nude videos and pictures could even  cause some consumers to turn away from purchasing Macs and iPods.

Pornography may simply have Apple running scared.

Douglas A. McIntyre