Apple iTunes store customers attempting to buy the Thin Lizzy album “Jailbreak” were met with the name “J*******k” in its place after Apple on Thursday attempted to censor the word before changing its mind a short time later.
Other instances of the word jailbreak were also censored in what is believed to be Apple’s newest attempt to thwart developers who try to jailbreak iPhone based devices.
Not all cases of “ jailbreak ” were removed during the blackout period and by Thursday afternoon the alleged censorship appeared to have been removed.
Apple has not officially revealed whether or not the removal of the word was a direct attempt at silencing Apple iOS jailbreak applications. Apple has went so far as to void the warranties on hardware when a device has been jailbroken and even disrupting jailbroken exploits by forcing hardware updates that override the jailbreak settings.
Apple in the meantime continues to argue that forcing sales through the Apple App Store ensures the security and functionality of iOS devices and reduces piracy. Of course Apple’s main focus is to continue its dominance of its platforms marketplace where the company receives 30% of each application and in-app purchase sold with the device.
It’s likely that censoring the word “jailbreak” would have a marginal effect on jailbroken iOS devices as most savvy users find methods through Google and other searches and not directly through the Apple iTunes store.
Do you think Apple can help halt the spread of Apple iOS jailbreak users through iTunes store censorship?
