Apple confirms Confederate flag ban in App Store, says war games have to change art

Posted:
in iPhone edited June 2015
Apple on Thursday confirmed that it has removed a number of games and other apps from the App Store because they contain images of the Confederate battle flag.




"We have removed apps from the App Store that use the Confederate flag in offensive or mean-spirited ways, which is in violation of our guidelines," a spokesperson said to BuzzFeed News. The company denied issuing a blanket ban however, stating that the flag can be shown for "educational or historical uses."

The decision has, however, forced a number of American Civil War games off of the App Store, even though developers insist the Confederate flag was only used to be historically accurate.

Sources told BuzzFeed that Apple is working with affected game developers to get their apps back in the App Store. The company is reportedly asking them to remove or replace the offending flag, however. One developer, HexWar, previously said it would resubmit with a less familiar 1861 version of the flag.

The racist killing of nine people at a South Carolina church last week has since led to a widespread campaign to remove the Confederate flag from public spaces, including government buildings and stores such as Amazon, eBay, and Walmart. For black Americans, the flag is often seen as a symbol of the slavery the Confederacy imposed on ancestors.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 292
    Good luck with that Apple. I think I'll be spending money elsewhere. Thank goodness for local bookstores and music shops. I don't see the need to cough up money for Apple Music either.
  • Reply 2 of 292
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    So who gets to decide what is offensive or mean-spirited? This is nuts and Tim Cook should put a stop to it.
  • Reply 3 of 292

    Does the iOS version of Wolfenstein 3D still have the Nazi flag?



    Actually, I don't care about flags or symbols, but that's speaking from privilege. I know it means a lot to some, and half of them I empathize with, and the other half are goons.

  • Reply 4 of 292
    scampercom wrote: »
    Does the iOS version of Wolfenstein 3D still have the Nazi flag?


    Actually, I don't care about flags or symbols, but that's speaking from privilege. I know it means a lot to some, and half of them I empathize with, and the other half are goons.

    Flags AND Hitler!
  • Reply 5 of 292

    Maybe they'll replace Hitler with a teletubby. (Actually, that might be more offensive to some.) Maybe just the word, "Hitler."

  • Reply 6 of 292
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    Is Apple gong to start banning use of the n-word from iTunes? If they did a lot of rap and hip-hop would be gone.
  • Reply 7 of 292
    libertyforalllibertyforall Posts: 1,418member

    How INCREDIBLY STUPID.  Apple has really gone off the deep end on this one.  Control freaks.  

  • Reply 8 of 292
    rogifan wrote: »
    Is Apple gong to start banning use of the n-word from iTunes? If they did a lot of rap and hip-hop would be gone.

    No, that's okay, Obama uses it in podcast interviews.
  • Reply 9 of 292
    adrayvenadrayven Posts: 460member
    Thats mob mentality.. lash out at things like flags, people, etc to get instant 5 seconds of feeling better about ones self for having done something.. "RAR, WE POWER, WE LEGION! FB/TWITTER POWER!" - Then.. flip over to that hilarious youtube video for instant funny.. 'instant on/instant off'..

    ugg..
  • Reply 10 of 292
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    No, that's okay, Obama uses it in podcast interviews.

    I'm just waiting for the US flag and the Union Jack to be gone. Plenty of people find them offensive too.
  • Reply 11 of 292
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    So who gets to decide what is offensive or mean-spirited? 

    Apple, it's their store. 

  • Reply 12 of 292
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TheWhiteFalcon View Post



    Good luck with that Apple. I think I'll be spending money elsewhere. Thank goodness for local bookstores and music shops. I don't see the need to cough up money for Apple Music either.


     

    Bye Bye.

  • Reply 13 of 292
    konqerrorkonqerror Posts: 685member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by scampercom View Post

     

    Does the iOS version of Wolfenstein 3D still have the Nazi flag?


     

    Most non-historical games do not use the Nazi swastika flag, or even the Nazi name due to laws in Europe. Usually they use the pre-Nazi Iron Cross.

     

    Also note that the Japanese national and military flags have been the same since 1870 (except that they shifted the military flag over slightly 1954 and changed some of the national flag proportions in 1999).

  • Reply 14 of 292

    Yeah, I know European restrictions are more stringent. I understand Apple's (evolving) stance on the matter.

  • Reply 15 of 292
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    I'm all for removing the confederate flag from all places that are promoting and "honoring" it, and especially from government properties, but the banning of it from historical games is too far. I'm not sure it's great to constantly rehash the civil war in games, but that's a bit of a different topic. The USA is still fighting that war. Well, many people in the south are. I've never found reenactment to be particularly healthy either. Maybe cutting out the games is a way to reduce the constant rehashing. I'm unsure.

    I guess the pharmaceutical corporations are all for the flag topic as a distraction away from the insanity their SSRI drugs cause, though. (SSRI drugs can kill your impulse control)
  • Reply 16 of 292
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    gregquinn wrote: »
    Apple, it's their store. 

    I thought Apple was a liberal company that supported free speech and First Amendment rights. Should Apple next remove any apps that reference the Bible since some people find the bible offensive?
  • Reply 17 of 292
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    rogifan wrote: »
    I'm just waiting for the US flag and the Union Jack to be gone. Plenty of people find them offensive too.

    The nationalist pride and flag abuse in the USA makes some of us USA citizens feel gross too. I find the USA flag to represent arrogance any more.
  • Reply 18 of 292
    dysamoria wrote: »
    The nationalist pride and flag abuse in the USA makes some of us USA citizens feel gross too. I find the USA flag to represent arrogance any more.

    Is it ever enough for you people? Ever? You have destroyed this country beyond recognition. There is no recovery here.

    When does it end? When we're in concentration camps? Gas chambers?
  • Reply 19 of 292
    sestewartsestewart Posts: 102member

    I'm sure Apple doesn't read AI forums. 

     

    Target your anger/aggression here: http://www.apple.com/feedback/

  • Reply 20 of 292
    freediverxfreediverx Posts: 1,423member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by scampercom View Post

     

    Does the iOS version of Wolfenstein 3D still have the Nazi flag?

     


     

    Were Nazis portrayed as the good guys in Wolfenstein?

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