Apple Approves Tasteless Baby-Shaker iPhone Game

Apple flip-flops on iPhone Baby Shaker application by first allowing it then banning it.
iPhone Baby Shaker App Gets Apple Ok, Then Nixed

Apple has landed in hot water with child-advocacy groups and angry parents after temporarily approving the “Baby Shaker” game in the iPhone App Store on Monday. Under pressure and criticism, Apple has now removed the application from its store.

The “Baby Shaker” iPhone app, developed by Sikalosoft, featured multiple drawings of a baby. The player had to stop the baby from crying by shaking the phone until red X marks showed up over the baby's eyes. “Baby Shaker” reportedly appeared in the App Store on Monday and cost 99 cents. The app was removed on Wednesday night.

Child advocates were at the core of the app's removal, claiming “Baby Shaker” is saying that killing babies is acceptable. Apple acquiesced to requests to remove the app from its store. But what many find surprising is that Apple actually allowed this app to make it into the App Store, while other, less controversial apps have been previously banned -- see “South Park” and many more.

However, there is another side to this story. Although Apple has been strict in the past with what kind of applications make it into its App Store, the approval of “Baby Shaker” -- just black humor in some people's view -- could be seen as a relaxation of those strict rules. But the app's removal might signal that these relaxed standards are not in the company's best interest.

Still, should Apple be able to dictate which apps are ethical or too offensive for the public? In comparison, the iTunes Music Store sells music with both sexual content and strong language, with a system in place for parents to control what their children can buy. Maybe a similar system for the App Store could be a good idea, and consumers would be able to judge for themselves what is offensive and what is just sick humor.

Apple's App Store success has inspired other manufacturers and developers, like Research In Motion, Nokia, Microsoft and Google, to release their own version of the store. Meanwhile Apple's store is counting down to 1 billion application downloads.