We are, as many others have commented, slowly walking into a future where what we can see, read, or do online is controlled by a relatively small number of companies, like Twitter, Facebook, Apple and Google.

Governments, fearful of being seen to censor directly, bring pressure on Silicon Valley companies to “protect users” or “clean up” discussions. And so Twitter bans some people, Tumblr becomes less pornographic, and so on.

To an extent, this is the right of those companies – they operate the platforms, they’re businesses, and they can do what they want. But as they do so, the ramifications spread far and wide. 

Nebulous “community standards” somehow allow Gay Conversion apps to end up on stores, or an app that Saudi men can use to track their wives and make sure they don’t travel without permission. Videos on YouTube that deal with safer sex end up being “de-monetised,” cutting off vital streams of funding for their creators. Policies like Facebook’s “Real Name” rule endanger LGBT people, women fleeing from violence and others.

Once again, these companies are entitled to have their policies – but we are entitled to ask if they’re the right ones, if they are being applied fairly, and if it is reasonable that there is no oversight.

A word about BLUF

I run BLUF, the Breeches and Leather Uniform Fanclub; it’s for men who have an interest in leather uniforms, though it’s more social than about hook-ups – we have over 150 meetings around the world each year. We don’t allow nudity or sexually explicit photos on the website.

And, after adding a few tweaks, we were able to get our app, BLUF Navigator, into Apple’s App Store. (Principally, we had to add blocking and reporting tools, and a method to display and accept an EULA).

So, I honestly didn’t expect any problems with our second app, BLUF Calendar. This is an app that takes data about the events we and other groups host, and syncs it on your device, allowing you to browse offline. You can highlight events, add them directly to your calendar, and share them via social media – it even reformats posters into a square frame for sharing on Instagram.

Check out our calendar

The whole calendar is publicly visible on the website at bluf.com/events and I honestly don’t think there’s anything too racy in there. Though, I was quite willing to accept that, as standards seem to be rather more puritan in America than elsewhere, we might need to do things like provide a way for certain posters to be hidden from app users, and maybe edit the information about some events. Nothing insurmountable, I imagined.

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So, when the first rejection came, with a note that there was objectionable content, I expected that a relatively simple clarification would find out what the problem was – perhaps a poster too like a Tom of Finland drawing, or an event description too explicit.

But there was nothing, beyond the bland statement

Your app includes content that is overtly sexual.

Apps with sexually explicit content and themes are not appropriate for the App Store.

Apple, 11th April

I appealed:

Can you give an example of specific material in the app that you believe is overtly sexual? The content of the app is a list of events with descriptions, and in some cases posters.

We do not believe that any of the posters are overtly sexual, but clearly standards of prudishness vary across the world. If you are able to give guidance, then we can restrict the display of certain posters in the app, or ensure content in the database is edited appropriately.

Yes, the app is intended for a mature audience – so too are other apps already on the store, which are aimed at the same audience. Are we to believe that anything leather-related is by its nature overtly sexual?

Me, 11th April

The response was another checkbox reply; rather than say what the problem was, which might make it possible to address, I was told

We hope that you will make the appropriate changes to your app to bring it into compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines and resubmit your app for review.

Apple, 14th April

So, I asked again

Hello! Without you telling me exactly which content you find objectionable, how can I put in place processes to make sure that such content isn’t displayed in the app? You haven’t included any attachments, so I don’t honestly know what the issue is.

Me, 14th April

And this time, we got a bit closer to a response. Apple responded

Thank you for your response. Fetishism related apps are not compliant with the App Store Review Guideline 1.1.4.

Apple, 14th April

Now, as I’ve said before, this is their App Store, and their rules, so I can’t complain too much. However, there’s also clearly a weird set of standards at work here, because that response is a flat out lie.

Check out the App Store. Go on…

How do I know? Because if I open the App Store and type “fetishism” or “fetish” into the search box, there are well over twenty apps, including some long established gay dating apps, apps for people into spanking and whipping, and hook-up apps that specifically mention “kink” or “fetish” or “BDSM” in their description.

You can even search the App Store on the web. Try it.

So, it’s honestly quite hard for me to believe Apple’s statement.

I tried to use the contact form to speak to a person, and got a response saying that I should use the appeal form in App review (so what’s the point of the contact form?) after submitting a new build.

Next, I ran the app, the description and the screenshots past someone who works for a big app that is fetish focussed and in the App Store, for their opinions. I tweaked the description to remove the words ‘kink’ and ‘fetish’ and updated some screenshots, and submitted a new build.

And the answer?

Your app includes content that is considered pornographic.

Apps with sexually explicit content and themes are not appropriate for the App Store.

Apple, 25th April

I responded – and as you can imagine, I’m getting a bit frustrated at this continual stonewalling:

Once again, if you think there is objectionable material in the app, please can you tell me what it is?

I have tried using the contact form to speak to a person, and got told to file a report again.

There are lots of apps in the app store that cover fetishism, proving hook-ups and so on. I’ve even had the developers of some of those look at this app, and they can’t understand the rejection either.

If you can give examples of the content you find objectionable, then we can put in place processes to remove it. This must be the fourth of fifth time now I’ve simply asked for an explanation of what exactly you don’t like.

Please at least grant me the courtesy of speaking to a real human being about this on the phone.

Me, May 1st

Human contact!

Finally, last week, someone called. And essentially just re-iterated that they consider the app – remember, this is a list of events, and event descriptions, and some posters – to be pornographic.

I pressed hard to find out what. One event highlighted was the BLUF LA Event on May 10th. That has the text (beware, filth ahead!)

BLUF LA Monthly Leather Social – catch up with other BLUF members at our regular monthly event in Los Angeles.
More info: Robert, aka Motorboot (834)

https://www.bluf.com/events/2928

And at the time of the phone call, it had the image above attached to it and displayed in the app. Now, I accept that some people might find this image a bit too racy, but it’s erotica not porn in my view. Nevertheless, I asked the person on the call, “Hannah” if it would be possible to gain approval if we removed such images from the app.

The answer? No. Because the concept of the app itself is pornographic. Because it’s aimed at men into leather. And that’s a fetish, and that’s not allowed.

At this point, I told her that I felt that was certainly sex-phobic, and very probably homophobic. That’s a touchy point it seems – it was something Hannah wasn’t even prepared to accept and allow to be discussed.

Because leather is a fetish, and fetish isn’t allowed, we can’t even have an app approved that has such filthy, raunchy things as brunches and dinners, and social meetings in bars. If we “changed the concept” we might be able to get approved.

Stubborn refusal

This, to me, feels like saying “Well, we don’t mind the nice gays, but those ones into leather? They should go back to hide in the closet.”

“No, we’re not discussing homophobia” I was told, again. So I reminded Hannah  that she’s not the arbiter of whether or not I think something is homophobic, just as you don’t get to tell a person of colour whether or not they can consider something racist.

I pointed out that there are lots of apps that are fetish related, including some of the examples above. Hannah’s response? She told me that if I felt there were things in the App Store that shouldn’t be, then I should report them.

I explained I don’t want to dob anyone in. I don’t want anyone else’s apps pulled. I just want to know why we can’t even have a list of events, when other people have apps that are explicitly described as enabling kinky hook-ups, or enhancing your sex life.

The summary of the call, from Apple’s position, is this:

As we discussed, your app includes content that is considered pornographic. Apps with sexually explicit content and themes, such as sexual fetishes, are not appropriate for the App Store.

Apple, May 2nd

From mine, it’s this: there are clear double standards here, and getting real information out of Apple about app rejections is next to impossible. I accept that standards of sexual propriety differ – after all, America is still coming to terms with Janet Jackson’s nipple, all these years later – but if you are going to apply standards of prudishness, at least apply them consistently.

Don’t brush people off by claiming that the whole concept of their app is pornographic, when you can’t offer a better explanation than “leather = fetish = porn” while at the same time you’re happy to host dozens of kink and fetish related apps in your store, and make money out of them.

Don’t put the onus on me to wreck other people’s businesses by reporting them. If you want a standard, enforce it. Make it clear.

Is this homophobia? Just anti-sex? Is it because – unlike some of the other apps – we don’t have a way for Apple to make a nice stream of income from BLUF Calendar?

I honestly don’t know. But I do know it’s a double standard, and that’s what stinks most of all.

Tags : apple | apps