Trent Reznor and the Slippery Slope of Appropriateness

Just last week, we had mentioned the issues Apple faced with the Baby Shaker app, approving, then swiftly removing the app. Now one of Apple's most prominent supporters is frustrated with the app approval process. Trent Reznor, the founder and only official member of the band Nine Inch Nails (NIN) has had the latest update to his praised iPhone app rejected. Due to objectionable content. According to Reznor on his message board, its the inclusion of a profanity-bearing song in the app that's caused the issue.

Reznor points out, in language more colorful than we use here, that the same lyrics can be found in songs available in the iTunes store. Apple has offered content in the store for years, labelled as "explicit."

How then should Apple regulate app appropriateness? It seems the best, although not perfect, solution would be to make robust parental controls available for app purchases. This isn't a new issue the gaming industry in particular has dealt with objectionable content issues for years, especially with online gameplay. Perhaps Apple should add a disclaimer for apps that could be used, to access a message board, for example, where any number of things might be seen/heard/read outside of Apple's control.

For two weeks, the biggest headlines generated from the app store have been about app mis-steps. It's time for Apple to be proactive and create a more uniform set of standards for the apps. It is by no means an easy issue to solve, but clearer/consistent guidelines are a start.