iPhone apps exist for all sorts of purposes: games and media to entertain, file viewers and creation programs for productivity, news for information on the world around you. To creator Josh Begley, Drone+ — which lets people know about American UAV attacks — fits the bill for that last type of app. Nevertheless, Apple has rejected his creation from the App Store. Again.
A Wired article chronicles the saga of Drone+, noting that Apple has blocked Begley’s app for different reasons with each rejection. First, App Store gatekeepers said it was “not useful”, and then bounced it back to Begley over some sort of logo issue. When Apple recently turned down Drones+ for a third time, they called it “objectionable and crude”.
UAV attacks are probably the most controversial military tactic of the present day, often getting compared to playing a video game. (Meanwhile, there is a great video game that explores the mindstate of an UAV pilot.) Drone+ would have quickly connected users to information about such attacks, culled from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in the United Kingdom.
Everyone may not want to be reminded that the public at large is unawares just how often robot planes are bombing locations across the world. But iDevice owner simple wouldn’t have to download the app if they didn’t want to. Apple isn’t letting them have that choice.
Apple Rejects App That Tracks U.S. Drone Strikes [Wired, via Twitter]
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