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Apple’s iconic iPhone handset may have been jokingly labelled the ‘Jesus Phone’ ever since taking the smartphone market by storm back in the summer of 2007, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Apple Inc. has any religious leanings or that its smartphone is any place for religiously contentious applications.
Seriously, what\'s all the fuss about? Image: mesoholy.com.
Moreover, the maker of an iPhone application called ‘me so holy’ has found his creation thrown centre stage this week after Apple rejected its inclusion to the App Store on the grounds that its content could be viewed as “offensive” and “objectionable” and that it violates the terms and conditions of the App Store developer agreement.
The application in question simply allows users to capture and superimpose their own facial expressions onto a variety of static images depicting different religious figures, which includes everyone’s favourite carpenter turned Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth.
“Applications must not contain any obscene, pornographic, offensive, or defamatory content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, etc.), or other content or materials that in Apple’s reasonable judgement may be found objectionable by iPhone or iPod touch users,” outlines Apple’s developer agreement.
However, the contentious software’s creator, Benjamin Kahle, has said ‘me so holy’ is “a positive and fun application” and that “Apple is being too sensitive” to the App Store’s perceived user group in deciding to refuse entry.
Adding that Apple’s rejection letter revealed a battle of values over what iPhone and iPod Touch users can and cannot view on their devices, Kahle said the move to block ‘me so holy’ only shows developers “that they should think inside the box, rather than outside it.”
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Me So Holy iPhone App from Benjamin Margolis on Vimeo.
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