Steve Jobs says 'No Porn' for iPhone and iPad Apps

By Randy Sly
5/17/2010
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

No unauthorized apps are allowed

" (W)e do believe we have a moral responsibility to keep porn off the iPhone...You know, there's a porn store for Android....You can download nothing but porn. You can download porn, your kids can download porn. That's a place we don't want to go - so we're not going to go there". (Steve Jobs)

'Thankfully for consumers, there is one smartphone that didn't want to do business with this sleazy industry. Kudos to Steve Jobs and Apple.' (Joshua Mercer) This editor would join with Joshua and say, 'Amen.'

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WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - In a response to a heated email from Gawker Media's Ryan Tate, Steve Jobs remained resolute on his "no porn" policy for iPhones and iPads.

Tate's Valleywag Column on Gawker.com stated, "I didn't plan to pick a fight with Steve Jobs last night. It just sort of happened: An iPad advertisement ticked me off; I sent the Apple CEO an angry email; he told me about 'freedom from porn.'"

Tate asked him what Bob Dylan, if he was 20, would think about his company. Would he think that the iPad really has anything to do with "revolution?"

Jobs replied, "Yep, freedom from programs that steal your private data. Freedom from programs that trash your battery. Freedom from porn. Yep, freedom. The times they are a changin', and some traditional PC folks feel like their world is slipping away."

The writer did confess, "I didn't identify myself as a writer for Gawker in my initial email, sent from my ryantate.com email address. I eventually made my affiliation clear, and Jobs didn't seem bothered."

This strategy may have been come from the fact that Gawker media was the company that paid for a stolen new generation iPhone left in a bar and taken by a patron. The issue is still being investigated.

The co-founder of Apple computer has been under fire from a number of tech writers over a statement he made during a question-and-answer session in April.

"gdgt" co-founder Ryan Block asked "Are there any plans to allow unsigned applications on the iPhone?" Jobs restated Apple's commitment that no unsigned applications (applications which are not approved by Apple) would be able to be downloaded by their devices.

"You know, there's a porn store for Android." Jobs said. "You can download nothing but porn. You can download porn, your kids can download porn. That's a place we don't want to go - so we're not going to go there."

"Wired" also ran a story in April critical of Apple's narrow view of what types of applications they would allow, particularly pointing out the rejection of an application from editorial cartoonist and Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Fiore, who was told that "lampooning public figures violated [Apple's] terms of service."

Wired went on to state that the company was going to "purge its App Store of content that included nudity, a retroactive ban that included apps from respected German publications such as Bild and Der Spiegel."

TechCrunch has been following this issue closely and posted an email from a frustrated user who was upset about decision, stating that "Apple's role isn't moral police."

In his response to the user, Jobs said, "Fiore's app will be in the store shortly. That was a mistake. However, we do believe we have a moral responsibility to keep porn off the iPhone. Folks who want porn can buy an Android phone."

Many critics of Apple's decision feel that the content held on any device should be determined by the owner. If the owner wants to download immoral material, that's his business.

On CatholicVoteAction.org, Joshua Mercer responded by saying, "This is so atypical of most businessmen. Profit is usually the only consideration. Hotel companies, for example, love the profit that comes from selling adult movies. They hide behind language like: "In-room movies are a revenue stream. This is a business matter."

"Thankfully for consumers, there is one smartphone that didn't want to do business with this sleazy industry. Kudos to Steve Jobs and Apple." This editor would join with Joshua and say, "Amen."

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Randy Sly is the Associate Editor of Catholic Online. He is a former Archbishop of the Charismatic Episcopal Church who laid aside that ministry to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church.

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

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1 - 10 of 42 Comments

Dan
1 year ago
Well done Steve Jobs, boohoo people can't get porn on the iPhone or iPad you can get it everywhere else.
DM
1 year ago
As someone "addicted" to porn, I have to applaud Jobs for taking this stance. I don't know if porn has ruined my life, but watching it overs the years has eaten away at my soul. I hate pornographers and I respect people who take a stand against them.
Gary Sellars
1 year ago
I've never been Catholic and I've often wondered why Catholics number so many in light of the evils done by so many popes and the Catholic Church. I would think more would question the claims of the Catholic Church as having the authority of Christ, since it's so obvious that Jesus is holy and the Catholic Church is not.

That being said, I do so appreciate the many times the Catholic Church and its representatives have stood strongly against abortion and now it warms my heart when I see and hear Catholics stand for morality and purity and modesty.

I saw a video on YouTube by several Catholics, mostly young, who talked about the importance of modesty and the associated issues. It blessed me a great deal.

I do hope Catholics understand that salvation is in Jesus and His Word and not in the Church, for "the head of every man is Christ." (1Cor 11:3)
rick
2 years ago
The lack of negative feedback on this page on such a ridiculous decision by jobs is disturbing.
Carry on, mac drones.
Kourtney M
2 years ago
Thank you Steve Jobs! For understanding that promoting a MORAL SOCIETY is far more important than BUSINESS SALES from sexual exploitation which glorifies violence and rape. Women and children, boys and girls do NOT benefit from pornography, only the male producers and male audiences do - in a sick way.

I support Steve Jobs and thus, Apple products, for thier honest attempt to keep sexual vulgarity out of the hands of women and children whom are negatively effected by pornography, and the men who believe this kind of obscene disrespect towards women is justified because it's "not real". The effects ARE REAL and there should be much tighter bans on pornography everywhere.
clarias
2 years ago
I've been deciding between the iphone and the droid ... I really appreciate what the iphone is doing in limiting the multi-million dollar porn industry. With this article, I know I have decide on the iphone. Thanks! I pray that God will bless those who show His children this respect.
L Lewis
2 years ago
Just got this news from Hollywood Prayer Network. Thank you Steve Jobs. Let's keep praying for him. I also I'm even more happy to have chosen mac.
Professor Jean Gallagher
2 years ago
I've always owned an Mac, but now, knowing the integrity of Steve Jobs and his ant-porn stance, I will always support Apple and their products.
Bill Donaghy
2 years ago
I went Apple a few years ago and don't regret it. Great products and this just cinched it. Porn ruins romance, real love, families, and true masculinity. This also makes me want to go buy an iPad to support Apple. Well, I was already planning on that ;)
Randy Magruder
2 years ago
The road to hell IS paved with good intentions (although I don't necessarily believe Steve has good intentions here). The solution here is to enact filters and parental controls, not to take it upon himself to be the be arbiter of what we may and may not look at on our phones. The idea that you will cede this control to a single person should frighten you. Today you are applauding because his decision aligns with you. But will you continue to applaud when something you care about is banned because STEVE considers it too controversial for the app store? Maybe hypothetically you hate abortion and someone makes an app that shows aborted fetuses. Steve decides that's inappropriate and blocks it from the app store. I'll grant most of us do not want such an app, but what I'm saying is that if you decide to cede this power and control to one entity, you are asking for a soft dictatorship.

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