Apple hints at looser App Store rules with iPhone OS 3.0

As confusion and controversy over Apple's App Store approval policies continue to mount, it appears the computing giant may begin to accept more adult-themed content with the forthcoming introduction of the iPhone OS 3.0 and its enhanced parental locks. AppleInsider reports that in a rejection email sent to developer Makayama, which submitted its Newspaper(s) ereader (an application featuring the U.K. daily The Sun, a tabloid notorious for its topless Page 3 models), Apple contended the app violates its App Store policies against obscene content; when Makayama re-submitted the app minus the Sun, Apple gave its approval, but added in the email that the developer might have a chance to resubmit the application complete with Page 3 models once iPhone OS 3.0 debuts this summer, bringing with it new firmware parental control options.

Apple officially unveiled the iPhone OS 3.0 beta in mid-March, promising more than 100 new features to bolster the functionality of iPhone and iPod touch applications. Among the bells and whistles: New controls and filters enabling parents to restrict access to App Store software, web content, iTunes music, location services and videos. While specifics on the new safeguards aren't yet known, AppleInsider speculates that in giving parents the tools to police their children's iPhone access on a case-by-case basis, Apple will now allow the App Store to carry more mature content.

Frustration over Apple's current (and often mysterious) App Store submission policies has reached a crescendo in recent weeks after it greenlighted developer Sikalosoft's controversial "Baby Shaker" application, later removing the app in the wake of consumer outcry and media criticism. Apple eventually issued a public apology, adding "This application was deeply offensive and should not have been approved for distribution on the App Store." Over the weekend, Apple rejected an update to the industrial band Nine Inch Nails' official iPhone app on grounds it contains "objectionable content," specifically the song "The Download Spiral"--as NIN frontman Trent Reznor points out, however, Apple continues to make "The Downward Spiral" available for premium download via iTunes.

For more on Apple's App Store policy changes:
- read this AppleInsider article