June 26, 2015

Apple Yanks Apps Featuring the Confederate Flag

Sorry, no “Southern Pride Themes!” for you.

<a href=http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-217604671/stock-photo-toronto-canada-september-a-sign-of-an-apple-company-in-front-of-their-toronto-store.html?src=iPI6XS0XX60t7Lve5xO82g-1-22>Lester Balajadia</a>/Shutterstock

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With the debate raging over whether Confederate flags should be removed from public property in states across the country, here’s one place you won’t be seeing the controversial symbol: in your iPhone apps.

Apple has joined companies including Amazon, Sears, and Walmart in taking a stand against the Confederate flag. According to Touch Arcade, a blog covering gaming on Apple’s iOS software, Apple has pulled Civil War games and apps that use the flag. Touch Arcade reports that all apps related to the flag, “regardless of context,” have been removed.

In a letter to developers informing them that their apps had been removed, Apple cited its App Store Review Guidelines, which state, “Apps containing references or commentary about a religious, cultural or ethnic group that are defamatory, offensive, mean-spirited or likely to expose the targeted group to harm or violence will be rejected.”

As reported by 9to5Mac, a blog covering all things Apple, apps like “Southern Pride Themes!,” with a confederate flag logo, are no longer available. But a quick search in the iPhone App Store indicates that a number of apps featuring the flag still turn up in the results. These range from historic materials such as the text of Jefferson Davis’ The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government to the game “Redneck Shooting Range!”

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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