Back in the far corner of Apple’s iTunes App Store, there looks to be a new doorway, one shielded discreetly by a beaded curtain through which, as adults shoulder in and out, curious children nearby may catch a forbidden glimpse of flesh. Yes, thanks to the inclusion of new parental controls in the iPhone 3.0 upgrade, Apple is now comfortable selling R-rated content, and the first entry appears to be a $1.99 app called Hottest Girls.
Originally, the app delivered shots of lingerie- and bikini-clad models, but the new version is a nude version and bears a warning that you must be at least 17 to download it. If parental filtering is enabled on the phone, the app is invisible.
Reaction is bound to be mixed.
Oh great, you might think, one more channel to contribute to the endless flow of objectification and unrealistic body images.
Or maybe, oh great, now Apple won’t have to play the nanny role, making arbitrary and inconsistent content decisions in its efforts to keep the store kid safe.
Or maybe both.
But the door, or curtain, is now open and represents a lucrative market into which sellers of soft porn will likely plunge.
Depending on the pent-up demand for T&A-to-go, submission of R-rated apps may even outstrip all others for a while.
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