Apple goes too far? :: The Future of the Internet

Apple goes too far?

September 29th, 2009 | by elisabeth | Published in iphone

If this story is true, I think it’s a real misjudgment on Apple’s part. Floatopian, a Virginia and Palo Alto-based developer, created an app called iSinglePayer designed to advocate for single-payer healthcare in the US. Per Floatopian’s open letter, the free app contained charts and information about health care reform; it could also calculate the user’s congressperson and whether he or she has taken money from the healthcare industry. Apple is said to have rejected the app, calling it “politically charged.” This isn’t the first time Apple has rejected an app for that reason—remember the Bush-departure-countdown and the Bush-shoe-throwing app.

Unlike those two apps, though, this strikes me as a genuinely positive and respectful contribution to, you know, democracy. I can see why the Bush-shoe-throwing app was offensive, but I would think that serious advocates on either side of the health-care debate would welcome apps that present and organize data. In fact, relatively similar websites are some of the coolest things on the web (for example, check out Open Secrets or Change Congress). It just seems to limit the potential of the iPhone to say it can’t be used for political discourse (unless, perhaps, the app is officially blessed by a politican, like the Obama election suite?).

I hope that Apple reverses course on this. Am I missing any subtlety to this story?

I’m also intrigued by the fact that the developer immediately took to the web and asked people to tweet, blog, and spread the story. Occasionally on this blog we’ve talked about developers as if they’re helpless in the face of Apple’s decisions, but that’s not entirely true–public opinion counts too.

—By Elisabeth Oppenheimer

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