Wired reports on the latest high profile app removal from the App Store related to nudity. This time, a free app called BeautyMeter was removed due to an inappropriate image of a nude minor.
The photo ... depicts a photo of a nude girl snapping a photo of her reflection in a mirror. In the screenshot, the girl, who is listed as a 15-year-old from the United States
BeautyMeter is an app that functions similarly to Hot or Not and allows users to upload their own photos to be rated by others. The developers of the application do not review each uploaded photo, so there appears to be no particular filter for content. They do claim that each photo is tagged with each iPhone's unique ID so that illegal content can be traced back to the owner of the phone, however.
Apple has not commented, but the app has been pulled from the App Store. According a lawyer cited in the article, neither Apple nor the developers are likely liable for the content:
Funnymals and Apple will probably not be held liable for the content because they would be protected by the Communications Decency Act, according to Mark Rasch, a lawyer and founder of computer security consulting firm Secure IT Experts. That's because when Apple approved the app, it did not contain the prohibited content. Instead, the app downloads images off the internet, thus placing the responsibility on the people who use the app
