WikiLeaks is a non profit media organization which publishes private, secret and classified media from anonymous news sources and news leaks. Since their launch in 2006 they have been hugely criticized by various sources including Governments, Organizations and companies over the content posted on their site.Three days ago Apple released the WikiLeaks App for the iPhone and iPad, but quietly removed it in the days following. Today they have officially confirmed that they have removed the app which allowed users to view Wikileaks content.
Today Apple made a statement as to why they removed the WikiLeaks App from their store.
An Apple spokesperson announced that the reason for the removal was "because the app violated developer guidelines and that Apps needed to comply with all local laws and may not put an individual or a group in harm's way.
There was also a previous speculation that Apple had taken the app down since it charged users $1.99 for content which could be freely obtained over the browser. I somehow can't imagine Apple worrying about how much the users pay for their products or content. The developer had also promised to donate $1 from every download to an organization that promotes the future of online democracy.
Companies have been cutting their ties with WikiLeaks recently. Paypal, Visa and Mastercard recently stopped processing payments for the Organization. Amazon who hosted the WikiLeaks content recently stopped doing so.
With these big names wanting to cut ties with WikiLeaks, it is not surprising that Apple wanted to do the same. They wouldn't want to be titled 'guilty by association'.
Whilst the app didn't receive more than 3 comments on Apple's App store, two of which were negative. It still has a wide audience who support it's work. What do you think? Is there a limit to what the media should report on? Are there sensitive topics that should just be left hidden? Leave a comment