June 15, 2010 | Online

Apple will decide what you see and read

In its bid to rid the world of offensive material, Apple has openly waged war on all things pornographic. That means no naughty apps for the iPhone, and no naughty books for the iPad.

Their latest act of censorship, however, seems a little more homophobic than the rest.

A graphic novel, based on Oscar Wilde's 'The Importance of Being Earnest,' included images of two men kissing. No cocks. No anal insertion. Apple's solution? Plop a big black square over the picture so no one could see it.  

The graphic novel was created by Tom Bouden and first published in 2001. It twists the original Wilde play into a modern day exploration of gay love, replacing many female characters with men.

"Before I downloaded it, I had to jump through one of Apple's silly hoops, agreeing that I was over 17," said Kevin Kelleher, at TheBigMoney.com. " ... I wished Apple had given me a different warning: That the black squares it insisted on adding defaced a perfectly good graphic novel to the point of nearly ruining it. I want my money back."

"iTunes and the iPad will most certainly conquer the digital book market," said Peter Bonte, who published the comic, "so it's very important they don't censor it too much. I hope they loosen up."

The actual, uncensored image? Click here.

iPad Publishing No Savior for Small Press, LGBT Comics Creators [Prism Comics]

It Gets Worse: Apple Censors a Gay Kiss in Oscar Wilde Comic [The Big Money]