Apple has confirmed that it pulled an iPhone app by the ex-gay organization Exodus International.
Speaking to New York’s Daily News, Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr said, “We removed the Exodus International app from the Apple Store because it violates our developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people.”
Ast to the Daily News’ question why Apple gave the app a rating of 4, signifying “no objectionable material,” perhaps the answer is in Exodus’s less-than-honest description of the app:
Exodus International is the world’s largest ministry to individuals and families impacted by homosexuality. With over 35 years of ministry experience, Exodus is committed to encouraging, educating and equipping the Body of Christ to address the issue of homosexuality with grace and truth.
What modern, tolerant person would have a problem with a ministry that encouraged and extended grace to LGBT persons and their families? But this vague description falls short of describing what the anti-gay Exodus International is really about.
Last night, an upset Exodus President Alan Chambers tweeted:
It’s official, the @ExodusInl App is no longer in the @AppStore. Incredibly disappointing. Watch out, it could happen to you. #freedom
But it’s not really about freedom, at least not in the First-Amendment sense Alan implies. American free speech rules don’t apply to the policy of a private company, unless Alan wants to argue that the Phelps clan, the KKK and H@t ‘n’ H@rny L@litas Ltd also have a right to an Apple app. On the other hand, it is about the freedom of a private company to have a content policy that rejects homophobia.
Hat tip: TWO