Apple bans a magazine app because “it’s just about Android”

Apple is wielding its mighty banhammer again. This time it’s a Danish magazine publisher, Mediaprovider, and its little magazine app all about Android phones and operating systems.

Brian Dixen, the managing director for Mediaprovider, received a call from Apple last week informing him that there was a problem with one of the apps they had submitted. “‘So what’s the problem?’ I asked sheepishly,” says Dixen. The Apple employee, identified as Richard, replied, “You know… your magazine… it’s just about Android…. we can’t have that in our App Store.”

Dixen is not surprised by the ban, but does feel Apple has overstepped its bounds. The approval process is a source of a lot of frustration. “We have to get not only our apps but every single copy of our magazines approved and I wonder what will happen if we choose to make the next issue of our magazine about mobile phones in general a theme issue about Android,” he told MediaWatch.

Danish publishers have had run ins with Apple in the past. Earlier this year, Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet had their app rejected because of the inclusion of the ‘Page Nine Girl’. Other magazines that Mediaprovider publishes include a gear and gadget magazine, as well as an iPhone magazine.

This story is a bit odd, unless there’s some other reason behind the ban. But if the only reason you’re banning the app is because of its focus on a competing product, then where do you stop? Searching the iTunes App store, I found an app called “BlackBerry Hacks” which is presumably “just about” BlackBerry. Based on this logic, it should be pulled from the store too. I think Apple needs to review this one again.

Article Via Gizmodo
Photo Credit: kodomut