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Rejected, 'politically charged' iSinglePayer app gets the green light
True to form, Apple has rethought its strategy on an App Store rejection, and has granted the "politically charged" iSinglePayer rights to terrorize potential buyers with its alarming messages. If you'll recall, the application tackles the hot-button healthcare issue in America by offering spending advice for consumers and a GPS lookup for local Congress members' and their healthcare-related donations. As we mentioned in our original post, it's a pretty tame set of functionality, and certainly nothing that seems outwardly offensive (at least not any more offensive than lots of apps you can purchase). Just as with our previous complaints about Apple's way of doing business, it's not so much the rejections that bother us, but the unclear set of circumstances by which the company arrives at those decisions. Regardless, some firebrand app reviewer has seen fit to allow this townhall-rattling piece of software into the Store, so now you can go see what all the fuss was about for yourself. [Via Daring Fireball]
Apple rejects iSinglePayer iPhone app for being 'politically charged'
Apple might be talking a big game about how it's revising the App Store approval process with an oversight board and trotting out Phil Schiller to do damage control at opportune moments, but the process itself is still generating inconsistent and maddening results -- like today's rejection of an app advocating for healthcare reform called iSinglePayer, which was rejected for being "politically charged." Yeah, that's insane, especially since the app just consists of healthcare spending information and a GPS-driven lookup tool for local Congress members and how much money they've received in health-sector donations. Say what you want about the political motivations of the app, but that's a fairly benign set of functions, and it's one that's been echoed by political apps on both sides of the aisle since the launch of the App Store. So why this rejection, and why now, when apps with names like "Conservative Talking Points" have been approved? And honestly, how is it even possible anyone at Apple is dumb enough to reject this without anticipating the firestorm of controversy it would cause? Who knows anymore -- we have a feeling ol' Phil's about to earn his paycheck explaining this one. [Via Daring Fireball]
