![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
itunes heads the censorship route?
Sep. 2nd, 2006 08:32 pmA Warning for anyone who uses itunes for their podcasts, and the direction it may be going...
Sex Education Podcast Banned from iTunes
http://www.greatsexgames.com/podcast/2006/08/apple-removes-sex-is-fun-from-itunes.html
On Tuesday, August 22nd, the podcast “Sex is Fun” reached the top 100 list (73 to be exact) on iTunes for the very first time. At 8:08 PM on the very same day the producers of “Sex is Fun” received an email from Apple Computer stating that their podcast had been “rejected from iTunes” though neglected to state the reason for being kicked out of the iTunes directory.
“It seems that iTunes has begun some form of morality cleansing as we are not the only podcast that had been removed from the list.” Stated, Kidder Kaper, the primary host of the show. “Other podcasts that offer information about sexuality or fringe topics, such as homosexual issues, have also been removed, receiving the same email giving the owners no reason why or information as what they may change about their shows to get back on.”
The company that owns the Sex is Fun podcast is having a conversation with their attorneys about the legal ramifications of being kicked off of the iTunes directory that lead to 80% of the show’s subscriptions. “We may have a case for discrimination here and we need to hear from the other podcasters that have been removed.” Explains a spokesperson for the company.
Sex is Fun continues to prevail with their show though they have noticed a dramatic decrease in new subscribers since being removed from iTunes. “This is the danger of having one giant resource for the media that was intended to be free of censorship and regulation.” Said Kidder while recording an emergency podcast to tell his listeners how to find the show in the future. “If you say something that the giant disagrees with, you can be silenced in the middle of the night and nobody will even know where you went. If it can happen to us, it can happen to any of the other podcasters too. Nobody knows who is next. It could be Violet Blue, or Dawn and Drew or any of the podcasts that Apple decides isn’t iTunes worthy.”
The staff that makes the show isn’t taking the whole ordeal lying down. On December 5th, Kidder and his cohorts are releasing a campaign with other podcasters to force Apple to make the iTunes directory a haven for free speech. The idea is that they will ask the listeners of their podcasts to boycott the iTunes Music Store which has sold over one billion titles since it began. “Nobody said that making the giant listen to you was going to be easy,” admits Kidder, “but I have thirty thousand listeners that want our flavor of programming and believe in free speech. If I get one hundred other podcasters to follow suit, we will have a small army voting with their pocket books right during chistmas shopping season. With enough numbers, we will make a dent and we will be noticed.”
Kidder has three demands for Apple to consider if they wish to end this boycott. One, iTunes must allow all podcasters to publish on the directory with freedom from censorship. Two, the iTunes ranking system must become fair and true and based on subscriptions, not on media buyouts. Three, iTunes must allow explain why any podcast has been rejected and allow for that podcaster to make whatever correction necessary to their feed and be reinstated to the directory.
With sincerest resolve be thank you in advance for you activism,
Kidder, Lorax and Coochie
Sex Education Podcast Banned from iTunes
http://www.greatsexgames.com/podcast/2006/08/apple-removes-sex-is-fun-from-itunes.html
On Tuesday, August 22nd, the podcast “Sex is Fun” reached the top 100 list (73 to be exact) on iTunes for the very first time. At 8:08 PM on the very same day the producers of “Sex is Fun” received an email from Apple Computer stating that their podcast had been “rejected from iTunes” though neglected to state the reason for being kicked out of the iTunes directory.
“It seems that iTunes has begun some form of morality cleansing as we are not the only podcast that had been removed from the list.” Stated, Kidder Kaper, the primary host of the show. “Other podcasts that offer information about sexuality or fringe topics, such as homosexual issues, have also been removed, receiving the same email giving the owners no reason why or information as what they may change about their shows to get back on.”
The company that owns the Sex is Fun podcast is having a conversation with their attorneys about the legal ramifications of being kicked off of the iTunes directory that lead to 80% of the show’s subscriptions. “We may have a case for discrimination here and we need to hear from the other podcasters that have been removed.” Explains a spokesperson for the company.
Sex is Fun continues to prevail with their show though they have noticed a dramatic decrease in new subscribers since being removed from iTunes. “This is the danger of having one giant resource for the media that was intended to be free of censorship and regulation.” Said Kidder while recording an emergency podcast to tell his listeners how to find the show in the future. “If you say something that the giant disagrees with, you can be silenced in the middle of the night and nobody will even know where you went. If it can happen to us, it can happen to any of the other podcasters too. Nobody knows who is next. It could be Violet Blue, or Dawn and Drew or any of the podcasts that Apple decides isn’t iTunes worthy.”
The staff that makes the show isn’t taking the whole ordeal lying down. On December 5th, Kidder and his cohorts are releasing a campaign with other podcasters to force Apple to make the iTunes directory a haven for free speech. The idea is that they will ask the listeners of their podcasts to boycott the iTunes Music Store which has sold over one billion titles since it began. “Nobody said that making the giant listen to you was going to be easy,” admits Kidder, “but I have thirty thousand listeners that want our flavor of programming and believe in free speech. If I get one hundred other podcasters to follow suit, we will have a small army voting with their pocket books right during chistmas shopping season. With enough numbers, we will make a dent and we will be noticed.”
Kidder has three demands for Apple to consider if they wish to end this boycott. One, iTunes must allow all podcasters to publish on the directory with freedom from censorship. Two, the iTunes ranking system must become fair and true and based on subscriptions, not on media buyouts. Three, iTunes must allow explain why any podcast has been rejected and allow for that podcaster to make whatever correction necessary to their feed and be reinstated to the directory.
With sincerest resolve be thank you in advance for you activism,
Kidder, Lorax and Coochie
