Apple Can’t Make Up Its Mind On Sex-Oriented Podcasts

Last year, after the iTunes Music Store started offering Podcasts, Steve Jobs went on record saying that much every topic was fair game except “pornography.” The following month, some well-known sex writers began podcasting without their material being censored or removed. It turned out that Apple had labelled these as “Explicit,” which was then construed as a policy.

Since then, however, a very popular sex education Podcast entitled  “Sex Is Fun” was removed. The hosts received a letter from Apple about the rejection on the same day it reached the Top 100 Podcasts List on iTunes. Host Kidder Kaper says that other “fringe”-topic Podcasts have also been removed, such as some with homosexual content.

The company that owns Sex Is Fun has contacted attorneys. “We may have a case for discrimination here and we need to hear from the other podcasters that have been removed,” said a company spokesperson.

The Sex Is Fun Podcast is still quite popular, but they say that  listenership has decreased since they were removed from the iTMS. Would they have a real case for discrimination against Apple, since the company has never taken an official stance on sexually-themed Podcasts?

“This is the danger of having one giant resource for the media that was intended to be free of censorship and regulation,”  Kidder announced during an emergency podcast in which he was telling his listeners how to find the show in the future.

“If you say something that the giant disagrees with, you can be silenced in the middle of the night and nobody will even know where you went. If it can happen to us, it can happen to any of the other podcasters too. Nobody knows who is next. It could be Violet Blue, or Dawn and Drew or any of the podcasts that Apple decides isnÂ’t iTunes worthy.”

Other sex-themed Podcasts are still available, although they are still labelled “Explicit.” This points out the dangers of what happens when self-appointed censors presume to be custos morum publicae. How does one define “pornography?” What constitutes “obscene?”

It will be a happier society – and world – when everyone understands and accepts the wisdom of the statement, “An it harm none, do what ye will.” In any event, how long these “explicit” podcasts  remain available depends on where this case goes…more details to come.

Via Ars Technica

Last year, after the iTunes Music Store started offering Podcasts, Steve Jobs went on record saying that much every topic was fair game except “pornography.” The following month, some well-known sex writers began podcasting without their material being censored or removed. It turned out that Apple had labelled these as “Explicit,” which was then construed as a policy.

Since then, however, a very popular sex education Podcast entitled  “Sex Is Fun” was removed. The hosts received a letter from Apple about the rejection on the same day it reached the Top 100 Podcasts List on iTunes. Host Kidder Kaper says that other “fringe”-topic Podcasts have also been removed, such as some with homosexual content.

The company that owns Sex Is Fun has contacted attorneys. “We may have a case for discrimination here and we need to hear from the other podcasters that have been removed,” said a company spokesperson.

The Sex Is Fun Podcast is still quite popular, but they say that  listenership has decreased since they were removed from the iTMS. Would they have a real case for discrimination against Apple, since the company has never taken an official stance on sexually-themed Podcasts?

“This is the danger of having one giant resource for the media that was intended to be free of censorship and regulation,”  Kidder announced during an emergency podcast in which he was telling his listeners how to find the show in the future.

“If you say something that the giant disagrees with, you can be silenced in the middle of the night and nobody will even know where you went. If it can happen to us, it can happen to any of the other podcasters too. Nobody knows who is next. It could be Violet Blue, or Dawn and Drew or any of the podcasts that Apple decides isnÂ’t iTunes worthy.”

Other sex-themed Podcasts are still available, although they are still labelled “Explicit.” This points out the dangers of what happens when self-appointed censors presume to be custos morum publicae. How does one define “pornography?” What constitutes “obscene?”

It will be a happier society – and world – when everyone understands and accepts the wisdom of the statement, “An it harm none, do what ye will.” In any event, how long these “explicit” podcasts  remain available depends on where this case goes…more details to come.

Via Ars Technica