Apple Pulls 500px Apps Due To Nude Photo Search And Pornography Allegations

Apple has stricken 500px's apps from the App Store because it facilitates nude image searches. The move is reported to have taken place early this morning in spite of the fact that the app defaults to a search mode that excludes nude images, requiring the user to make specific changes in order to find them. 500px has adjusted the app to try to please Apple as a result.

500px has rolled out a new update for the app to address the issue, which is awaiting Apple approval. The company's COO Evgeny Tchebotarev stressed to TechCrunch that although nude images are allowed, pornographic photos are not. In addition to the iOS 500px app, the company's ISO500 app was also pulled for the same reason.

As many have noted, 500px's apps aren't the only ones that facilitate locating nude images, so one must wonder what kind of precedence this sets for other apps. Will Apple be scrubbing from the App Store every app that allows its users to pull up photographs of people in various states of undress? If so, the likes of Tumblr and Flickr, to name a few, should be nervous.

Apple, however, had some harsher things to say about the app, claiming that pornographic images were, indeed, available. "The app was removed from the App Store for featuring pornographic images and material, a clear violation of our guidelines. We also received customer complaints about possible child pornography. We've asked the developer to put safeguards in place to prevent pornographic images and material in their app."

[via TechCrunch]