Apple banned an iPhone and iPad app designed to facilitate access to WikiLeaks’ unfolding cache of leaked U.S. diplomatic cables, putting the company on the growing list of U.S. corporations aligned against Wikileaks. According to Wired Apple removed the WikiLeaks app from the App Store because it violated its developer guidelines.
“Apps must comply with all local laws and may not put an individual or targeted group in harm’s way,” said Apple.
This should make the hacker group which has been targeting sites that ban Wikileaks, Anonymous, incandescent with rage. It will be interesting to see if Apple is given the same treatment that other outfits who have spurned Wikileaks. Amazon cut off WikiLeaks hosting, and PayPal, Visa, MasterCard and Bank of America have all blocked donations to the organisation and were all hacked.
Oddly it seems that Apple have jumped the gun a bit. WikiLeaks and its people haven’t been charged with a crime for publishing US leaks, and they’d have a strong First Amendment defense if they were.
There has yet to be a documented instance of anyone coming to harm as a result of WikiLeaks’ releases. It seems that Jobs Mob is now in the business of censoring controversial, but lawfully published, content of news. This does not bode well for the iPad's links with newspapers and magazines.
Jobs is saying, yeah you can run news, but we will shut you down if you disagree with Apple, or say anything too controversial. (So if we launch a Fudzilla iPhone app, we'll need to sack you. sub.ed.)