Editorial: Waiter, there's a Nazi theme in my Android Market (updated)
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted August 13th 2010 11:32AM
posted August 13th 2010 11:32AM
In the past, we've railed against Apple for its confusing, unfair, and often absurd App Store policies, particularly when it comes to the policing of applications based on content, not code. Steve Jobs has made a point during press conferences to say that the Android Market allows porn apps -- which of course set off a furious debate. Sadly, what Jobs should have pointed out was that the Market allows something far more insidious and damaging than even the hardest-core pornography -- apps that spread hate and propagate the views of a movement that is pretty much universally reviled.
And here's where we have to take a hard look at what censorship really means, and what kind of role it can (and clearly should) play in the new frontier of app marketplaces on mobile devices (and elsewhere). Let's be clear about this right off the bat -- an app store isn't the internet. It's not a free-for-all, it's not an open venue where any type of wares might be hawked. The whole point of these app portals is to provide a controlled service to your users that has guidelines and rules that make getting software onto your phone relatively easy and safe. Whether or not you have stringent policies for what you'll accept (Apple), or few (Google), no one should pretend that this isn't a siloed service that must have rails to operate.
Think of it this way: app stores are kind of like privately owned bookstores. The owner of the bookstore doesn't have to carry the art book of nudes or the pro-Nazi thesis. In most situations, it doesn't have to carry everything because there are plenty of other places to get those books. That concept is especially true for Android -- users can sideload any applications they want onto their devices. No one is going to tell you that you can't install a Nazi theme on your phone, but we're pretty sure that Google shouldn't make it so easy, and it shouldn't subject a large portion of its users to content that rightfully deserves to sit on the fringes, not in the center.
So ultimately, what's the answer? While tapping out my thoughts on the matter, it seemed painfully clear how difficult of a question this really is. But the part that's confusing is the part that's essentially a lie -- that keeping certain pieces of content out of systems like the App Store or the Android Market equates to censorship... because it doesn't. As I said above, these portals aren't the whole world, they're not the internet -- hell, most people don't even have smartphones that they download applications onto. These are closed systems for specific uses, and something tells me that the people who built these systems don't really want to see them used to distribute Nazi themes. A follow-up tweet from Gartenberg stating that the company is "upset" by the experience and that the apps in question are in violation of its terms of service seems to confirm that.
I don't have the final word on this, and maybe there really isn't a final word to have. I know in my gut that Google doesn't want to be the place to go for all your Nazi needs, but I also know that there's a serious gray area when it comes to the hows and whys of choosing what you will and won't offer to users. In the end, a little common sense goes a long way, and if the Apples and Googles of the world can't find a middle ground that's fair, we're in for a messy, bumpy ride.
Update: Google has apparently pulled the themes due to "a violation of Android content policy."
Update 2: As PC Magazine points out, and as you can plainly read in Android's Content Policy for Developers, Google forbids content in the Market which involves "promotions of hate or incitement of violence," and (free speech-defying as it may seem) "pornography, obscenity, nudity or sexual activity." From where we stand, it looks like this is more an issue of Google's willingness to police its Market than it is about censorship -- Google definitely has rules about what it will and won't allow in its store.
@Wigley69
So when does the killing end? you obviously are a racist so just admit the fact. And I could care less whether jews are a race or a religion or a cult or whatever. the fact that a marketplace allows shit like this to show up is rediculous. anyone who advocates the spread of hatred and condoning of murder based on race, creed, color, religion, or any other basis in a "marketplace" is nothing but an obvious racist and hate monger. again it has nothing to do with freedom of speech or the first ammendment. If walmart suddenly wanted to fly swastikas or kkk symbols in theis stores i have plenty of alternative places to shop but how many android app marketplaces are their?
@keepitreal32244 I support gay marriage. Any planet that advocates countries that make it illegal is homophobic and I don't want to live on it. Shame there's no where else to live. Seriously, grow up and get over it.
@bufbarnaby
Who cares about symbols. Racists and fascists are dickheads and it's not the ones wearing swaztikas and jackboots that you have to be worried about in the 21st century.
Down with the hate...
If all we had to worry about was porn, the world might be a better place.
@Draper Well this was to be expected. Openness is a double edge sword. It means opening up to everything even these kind of garbage.
@Draper
It's freedom to express your beliefs. I may not agree with what you've got to say, but you've got the right to say it.
@Draper
So report the Nazi apps ("Flag as inappropriate") and leave the porn apps be...
Apparently someone's already cleaned out a few of the apps, because I could only find two to flag with the "Jewish" search query...
@Mr Deux
I don't like the app and don't agree with it in any way, but I have a solution. NO ONE BUY THE APP!!!!! Yes, it is that simple.
@Draper
Freedom of speech. Let Android embrace it. However, make an adult section, and fine people for posting porn in non-18 up areas.
Nazi shit is bleh, but hey, its kinda funny that they are charging for it.
@genesis
Spelling the name of your leader wrong certainly doesn't help your hate group become less reviled.
Stupid Nazis...
@Draper
More violence is related to porn today than it is to a swastika. Both are abhorrent to some groups.
Sure, plenty of people view porn and have no issues with it. Sames true with the swastika. Let's not somehow pretend that porn is consequence free though. Millions of families have been destroyed by porn. Virtually all criminals who commit heinous crimes report being exposed to pornography early and often.
For me it's simple - it's either all or nothing. You can install guidelines that prevent anything that is reasonably offensive from being in your app store. Or you let it all in and let your users decide for themselves what makes sense. I think what people want is consistency. They don't want some guy in Mountain View or Cupertino arbitrarily deciding that a swastika is fine but porn is bad (or vice versa).
Make it easy. Allow everything but provide much better filtering. People that don't want to see trash can filter it out and never see the stuff in their results. Those that want it can freely access it by allowing all content.
@Draper Well I don't like this one bit, but its in First Amendment that people can do this, so just ignore it and get on with your lives.....
@Draper
This definitely is a double-edged sword kind of thing. Racism in general is bullshit and for pussies, but I [unfortunately] do support the right people have to say and express themselves as they see fit. However, I do think there should be some type of filter for apps of this nature.
@genesis
I definitively agree with this. I really don't see what's wrong with that kind of apps. Let all opinions exist, only the good ones will survive.
If you dislike an idea you really need it to be expressed so that you can counter it.
Censorship is the way of the cowards.
@thewild You don't see what the fuck is wrong with it? Go back in time 50 years and travel to germany....oh an make sure you're a Jew.
Good luck.
@genesis
agreed! and giving attention to this theme will only result in more idiots actually supporting these developers
@bjsguess
"More violence is related to porn today than it is to a swastika."
That's such a broad statement you can't even begin to try and proove it. I'm quite sure that violent criminals had much bigger things going on in their life than being exposed to porn. It probably started with their parents, complete lack of nurturing, terrible environment, etc etc etc.
@Draper and the commenters below
I think it is funny how when it comes to something so simple minded, requiring little complexity to understand (such as an app marketplace), we rally for the openness and freedom to chose as we wish as long as it can be controlled by the end user (through filtration), yet when it comes to our freedom in our lives, we are okay to give freedoms up because of that double edged sword it carries.
@Draper
Android is going to be one fine platform for the deviant fringes of humanity. Porn, racism and hate apps being spread unchecked. Well, at least it's good that all the dregs of society will be using Android and not iOS. What next? All the terrorists, gays and devil worshipers will be pushing all their trashy apps on the Android platform. Consumers are going to need to start boycotting Google. Android will become the platform for evil.
@Draper At least with porn there's no hate being spread.
By the way, the dev put it under Creature Apps... how strangely fitting.
@marsmissions :
I see what's wrong with nazism, I don't see what's wrong with expressing an opinion.
That's my opinion, but maybe you think I should not be able to express it because it might be dangerous ?
@Draper Absolutely get better filtering etc., BUT I have to agree with the majority of posters here that it really should be all or nothing. It's all completely subjective, what is acceptable to one person or culture is unacceptable to another. Something that is touted as "open" should be exactly that. By extension then, the idea that whoever decides which apps can stay and which cannot would be decided completely objectively by whomever is accepting or rejecting apps that day is absolutely ridiculous.
The idea that our society is so fragile that even the existence of something like a Nazi theme on the Android market would cause this much backlash and scrutiny almost scary. Have we really become a society so sheltered that we cannot make our own decisions on whether or not to download something like this? How are we ever to learn from our own mistakes if we choose to bury our heads in the sand whenever something that is not the status quo is thrown our way?
Hmm I seem to have gotten a little carried away with my comment, but the core of my argument still stands.
"I definitively agree with this. I really don't see what's wrong with that kind of apps. Let all opinions exist, only the good ones will survive."
@thewild
This is likely one of the most stupid and naive comments I have ever read on the internet. If one thing, history teaches us that it's exactly the other way around: the bad ideas get picked up and spread easiest, and only after terrible things have happened they get replaced by something else, which are often equally bad in the long run.
@Draper
at first, after reading the article i thought to myself, "wow today can't be sunday night...and that is the first article i've read from the gartenberg character that wasn't filled w/ mindless drivel." then of course, i scroll up and see its written by good ol' JP.
but on topic, there's no two ways to hash it. if by any way you limit some of the content you have in your app store, that is by definition censorship. not saying that censorship is good, but the complete lack of it isn't good either. anyone familiar w/ first amendment rights in the US, knows that even these rights have a limit.
you can also tighten the censorship reigns w/out being as draconian as Lord Jobs. Again, google you've made a great platform, pretty much a hybrid of the App store and the way that Windows Mobile use to handle apps before their marketplace. You have your official means, and you also have sideloading available. This is great, because you can basically say, hey anything that we approve of you can find in the app store. but, if you insist on having porn, or nazis, or flaming kittens on your phone, you can sideload that stuff all you want. we'll give you the option.
Making a censored app store w/ the option of sideloading would be the best way to handle apps if you ask me. Google doesn't make any money off sideloading, so in no way can they condone it...but having google making a % of cash off swastikas does bother me a bit.
@MosesusedaniPad So, why did Josh write a unusual editorial about Anti-jewish things?
Censorship must be given at some point.Discrimintating subjects or in this case themes which remember people of anti-jewish things have to be cut down!
@liftedngifted1 except that this is not a public forum, but a controlled platform. If the decide to pull it, they have every right to do so. I don't really care either way...
@Draper aww..come on guys..its just an app...
@ALL
Anyone who actually thinks this is good is probably a closest racist. You site freedom of speech and yes it is a great freedom but it has it's place in a marketplace. Would you shop at a store that sold swastika flags hanging up freely and celebrated slavery or the holocaust? If your would support these types of stores than you are a racist and just admit as much in your post because saying thse types of things should be available for anyone to see is rediculous. Might as well say child porn is a freedom of speech as well and post pics of your kids on here for all to see.
@drange : You definitively sound like an expert in history, and even more in history of ideas.
"Bad ideas spread then terrible things happen then they are replaced by something worse".
Really ? This is so unfounded that I wont even reply.
@Draper
You are not gonna stop nazism by removing apps like this one, and I realy can't see that this would create new nazis. Just ignore it and move one.
@keepitreal32244
Show me anyone here who thinks this is good. Pretty sure that the theme is being condoned by everyone here.
@keepitreal32244
That's a ridiculous statement, and you're terrible at making analogies. You're either for or against censorship. Period. Freedom means taking the bad with the good. You can't say you're against censorship and then draw a line saying 'but not past this point'.
We're not talking about a local store on the street here, this is google. Yes, they do censor themselves in rare and subtle instances, but banning hate speech on their marketplace would be overt censorship which they've so far have been against.
And let's be honest here, no one really cares about Nazi apps except Nazis. Yes it sucks that Nazi apps show up when you search for 'Jewish' but it's HARDLY unrelated. I'm not sure how the article writer managed to even suggest that. It's not what most people want, but it's most definitely related. The solution for that isn't to remove the apps, it's to refine the marketplace search system.
@keepitreal32244
if the shop had interesting items for sale, like authentic items from the 1930-1945 era, then I don't see why not visit it. movie makers have to get their stuff from somewhere too.
let's put it this way, if you found a gold bar with nazi emblems, would you throw it away, melt it or donate it to a museum? melting it would be the worst, it works as a reminder and proof that the whole stupid self contradicting movement existed and as such as proof of holocaust as well. erase nazis from history and you come up with people who start believing that they're just a horror story invented to frighten kids.
should wolfenstein 3d be banned? should call of duty be banned? of course not, best way to deal with people idolising hitler is to laugh at the stupidity how hitler and his posse handled theirselfs.
for whats it worth, the themes look really poorly done, which is a same since some of the better things nazis funded was nice architechture and design, after all, they did have their propaganda and team spirit building techniques done pretty well. which is important to remember to not fall on similar antics.
anyways, an appstore should be all or nothing. removing this would mean in the end removing anything related to khmer rouge, several african tribes, pentagrams, anything with half moon, anything with the jewish star, the american flag, japanese military symbols, twin towers, inquisition, abortion, blood transfusion, depiction of the female figure, anything with.. you should get the point, it's a global market place and just about everything is potentially offending to a quite large number of people these days.
@syahmi3397
"It's just app". No, it's a state of mind of people wanting to kill other people for their attributes. This kind of nonsense needs to be censored, cause there's always dumb ass sheeps without ability to think on their own. Read some history
@bjsguess
You can't be serious. What kind of f@cking dumb asses are there??
@phife Hahahahahahahahahahahaha! I didn't even notice that. Nazis are idiots. Lol.
@liftedngifted1
No it isn't. It's in the first amendment that people can say whatever they like, but not that everyone else is obliged to sell what they say.
@all
Its hilarious how everone is about freedom of speech but there are lines. If someone were to come up with a pedophile theme with animations(not actual pictures) of babies being sexually abused by adults would you so that's ok its just freedom of speech or artistic expression? because statistically speaking there are millions of pedophiles in the world and im sure that many of them use android phones. almost certainly more pedophiles than neo-nazis. so any brave develepors go create a pedophile app. you are bound to make a mint
@genesis
I'm Jewish so this hits me more than it would for non-Jews so I just want to point that out before I make my point.
Look at it this way, would you want an app that informs someone of when meetings of groups that our country and many other countries find to be terrorists to be allowed on the app store? They have just as much of a right to assemble and not all countries find them to be terrorists. It might not be iillegal or a violation of the market's TOS or whatever but it's morally wrong and everyone knows it. It's something you have to look at and saying to move on isn't good enough in my opinon.
This PROMOTES Nazism even if it's just a dumb theme. How do we know there won't be even more in depth hate apps like when pro-Nazi groups are having meetings? It's a very touchy subject and everyone's absolutely right when they say this is a double-edged sword.
I'm glad Jsoh brought this article up becasue it is relaly interesting to ponder over and debate over. Can something be too open?
Just my thoughts.
@cobjones No its not that simple because those who want to buy it exist and they will buy it. Everyone else will, in possession of a little common sense, obviously not buy it.
@marsmissions
50 years back ... is 1960 ... is 15 years after WWII ... yust for the record ;o)
@liftedngifted1 You do realize not everyone lives in America, right?
@liftedngifted1 This is code not speech, and either way the metaphor of the bookstore is completely applicable - the owner has every right to refuse to stock Mein Kampf, and so Google has every right to remove these apps from their app store. And that's a right i'd like to see them exercise.
@Draper
Dont think it should be censored, sure punch the submitter in the nuts if you see him, but the market should be open.
@marsmissions Going back in time 50 years would take you to 1960, West Germany was experiencing the Wirtshaftswunder and the Cold War was in full swing. So what's your point |!|
@Deusx I don't agree on the "freedom of expression and opinion" when it comes to subjects like nazism ... Apparently in the US, it's legal (like in Japan) whereas in France (and other European countries) it is strictly forbidden/illegal to express a support for the nazis or whatever it links, and I think it's right. You can't let it all out. We all know what happened.
I mean this is basically available to anybody who's got an android phone and supporting nazism is just as bad as supporting lynching Blacks. Yes, some people are supporting that idea, but hell no it shouldnt be left uncensored !
@bjsguess Jeebus, most criminals were probably also exposed to sesame street early and often.
@thewild - Hear hear!
@huzzlehoff Well that wouldn't work now would it? If we censor it, then it wouldn't be in the history books to begin with.
@kingsfall "You're either for or against censorship. Period. Freedom means taking the bad with the good. You can't say you're against censorship and then draw a line saying 'but not past this point'." YES I CAN! It's called thinking. I realize you love simple answers but outside basic mathematics they seldom work very well. Of course we have to draw boundaries to limit what is acceptable and what is not because otherwise we would still have things like slavery. I am against censorship but when you start talking about getting rid of an ethnic or sexual group, I will shut you up.