Apple Deemed ‘Offensive’ For Blocking Women’s Reproductive Rights App ‘Hinder’

Apple Inc., a company that has been known to be very selective with the quality of apps it allows in its app store, is now being selective with the kind of apps it allows. When Lizz Winstead, a co-creator of The Daily Show, approached Apple with an app called Hinder, she was turned down, and here’s why.

The Hinder app is a women’s reproductive rights app, which may seem normal enough, except this app has the ability to track the decision and voting patterns of actual politicians to see if they vote in favor of women or against them. In a recent interview with the Huffington Post, Winstead explained the capabilities of the new Hinder app in detail.

“All of a sudden there’s a satirical app like your hookup app that’s telling you that, basically, if you choose to hook up with people, or you make a decision to live any kind of sexual lifestyle that you want, there are people who are desperately trying to prevent you from making that experience be safe, be acceptable, be a lot of things.”

Despite the perceived brilliance of the app, which could potentially help women decide who to vote for in coming elections, Apple hindered the Hinder app in early September from being a part of its large app store collection. The company reportedly did this because the app violates its app review guidelines. Specifically, Apple’s app Rule 14 states that “any App that is defamatory, offensive, mean-spirited, or likely to place the targeted individual or group in harm’s way.” According to Apple, Hinder’s ability to “target” politicians who vote against women’s rights is a violation. Unfortunately for the Apple app store, many women have found out about the blocking of the app and are very unsettled about Apple’s decision.

First, Lizz Winstead herself confessed her disappointment and explain why reproductive rights are so important to her. Winstead was once a pregnant teenager in 1970s at which time she was discouraged from aborting by being for to visualize images of dead fetuses, Winstead was told that her only two options were “mommy or murder.” Though she ultimately chose to abort, the experience awakened the advocate within her, leading to the creation of an app like Hinder. In agreement with Lizz, a women’s advocacy group has also spoken out against the rules of the Apple app store.

The Ultra Violet group claims that Apple’s exclusion of the Hinder app for the Apple app store is sexist and wrong. In an effort to reverse Apple’s decision, the group has written a petition that is posted online and currently has over 20,000 signatures. The women’s group not only speaks against Apple but demands that Apple reconsider the decision and allow the Hinder app in its app store. Ultra Violet Group co-founder Nita Chaudhary recently made a statement of her disappointed and future expectations for Apple.

“Apple’s decision to censor politician’s positions on women’s health is shocking and unacceptable. We demand Apple immediately take action to allow the app Hinder to appear in the Apple store, allowing women to track every ridiculous thing politicians have said about our bodies and our choices.”

[Image via Shuttershock]