Wikipedia has been deleting images that could be considered pornographic – including some used to illustrate articles on sexuality, which has upset some editors who felt he should have consulted them first.
On his Talk page, co-founder Jimmy Wales wrote that: “Wikimedia Commons admins who wish to remove from the project all images that are of little or no educational value but which appeal solely to prurient interests have my full support.”
“Wikimedia Commons” is a “free media repository” and a sister project to the Wikipedia encyclopedia. It was set up so that all the Wikimedia projects could share photographs, cartoons and other materials. However, it had been accused of holding pornography.
Wikinews said Wales and some other administrators had changed policy so they would delete first and argue about it later. “Images that in the past had survived deletion reviews were speedily deleted, including many which were being used to illustrate articles on sexuality across the Foundation’s projects,” it reported.
Fox News said Wikimedia’s actions were “in response to reporting by FoxNews.com”. The US news channel said it was contacting some of the project’s donors including Google, Ford Foundation, Best Buy and Craigslist Foundation. It would hurt Wikimedia financially if any foundations withdrew their support it because it was associated with pornography.
Meanwhile, Apple is keeping porn off the AppStore that serves the iPhone and iPad in light of concern about making undesirable content accessible to children.
Developers of iPhone apps have already become used to having their programs censored, while the iPad – due in the UK at the end of this month – is introducing more British magazine and ebook publishers to Apple’s strictures.
This doesn’t apply to pornography, which is already banned, but to fashion magazines such as Dazed & Confused. “A D&C insider revealed that the mag’s iPad edition has been nicknamed the Iran edition by the people putting it together, given the parallels between censorship in the Muslim theocracy and the iTunes store,” according to Anna Leach of the ShinyShiny blog.
Leach said she hadn’t heard of any iPad apps being rejected, and it was a precautionary response. But, “I can see it being quite widespread in magazines that deal with edgier street fashions, such as Dazed & Confused, Vice, and Love,” she said.
Apple’s chief executive Steve Jobs has defended the level of censorship it applies. “We do believe we have a moral responsibility to keep porn off the iPhone,” he told one customer in an email. “Folks who want porn can buy an Android phone,” he said.
The problem for content producers is that they don’t know exactly how far they can go, though established publications such as Sports Illustrated (which has a famous swimsuit issue) appear less likely to run into problems than less famous titles. Infamous ones probably shouldn’t bother. They can still reach iPad and iPhone users via the Apple web browsers built into these devices, they just can’t trouser the cash for selling apps.
Although some will cry censorship, British publishers operated for many years under a similar unofficial self-censorship regime, with editors wary of publishing content that would upset their main distributor, WH Smith.
You may also want to read...
- As AI porn generators get better, the stakes get higher
- Former Porn Star Mia Khalifa Looks Hot And Sexy, As She Dons A Yellow-Black Swimsuit
- Amid presidential scandal, Stormy Daniels in Oregon for 3 strip club events
- Jenna Jameson, Tito Ortiz back together: 'We can work through this,' says porn queen
- Former Porn Star Jenna Jameson To Make Music Debut
