Hasta La Creative!

Remember Pepe the frog? The cartoon frog that has now evolved into a meme God that did indeed decide the U.S. election? Turns out that you can not make game apps with Pepe for iOS, as Apple calls the frog “objectionable content”. The developers of “Pepe Scream” received this rejection mail from Apple: Hello
We are writing to let you know the result of your appeal for your app, Pepe Scream.
The App Review Board evaluated your app and determined that the original rejection feedback is valid. Your app does not comply with:

Safety 1.1.
Your app contains images and references of Pepe the Frog, which are considered objectionable content. It would be appropriate to remove the references and revise the images in your app.

Fascinating. A cartoon frog is now objectionable. Then how come I can buy P.E.P.E. Shadilay on iTunes complete with the cartoon frog as featured on the first vinyl pressing?

Don’t worry, you can still get the Pepe Scream game on Android. Yeay for Google, for once. The game is as simple as it is silly, make your Pepe fly by screaming in real life. Loud kids and obnoxious teenager recommended as nothing is quite as fun as trying to beat your high score while annoying everyone around you at the same time. Very silly, so of course I’ve downloaded and played with it for too long. Topkek, as the kids say.

We’ve reached out to Apple for comment, at the time of press we still have yet to receive any response. A quick gander at the developer policy shows that the arbitrary rules are indeed arbitrary as they fail to define what objectionable content is. When one giant corp controls the entire marketplace for apps, they can also police what kind of apps we will see in the future. Like their own appocalypse ad joked, they do cover a large part of the smart device market.
We will reject apps for any content or behavior that we believe is over the line. What line, you ask? Well, as a Supreme Court Justice once said, “I’ll know it when I see it”. And we think that you will also know it when you cross it.