Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc have raised concerns with Amazon.com Inc that sexually explicit photos could be used by children on the popular Kindle app and called on Amazon to strengthen its content moderation.
The warnings were sparked by questions asked by Reuters to spokespeople for the three companies about the ability to access and view online versions of photos of naked women through the Kindle app, such as “75 hot fully nude photos of a young man”. Blonde” and “Real Erotica: Amateur Nude Girls – Vol. 4”. Some appeared to depict women and men engaged in sexual acts.
The companies said their concerns were about policy violations, but did not provide further details about how their rules were broken or their warnings to Amazon.
Reuters became aware of the issue after two families told Reuters their pre-teen sons downloaded explicit content through Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited e-book subscription service and viewed full-color photos on the Kindle iPhone app. The pornography is also available through Amazon’s Kindle online store and can be viewed on versions of the Kindle app.
The parents, who declined to be named, told Reuters they were initially attracted to the $10-a-month service because it offered access to age-appropriate book series that would otherwise be expensive to buy. and was not available on Amazon’s Kids+ subscription service.
“We are committed to providing a safe shopping and reading experience for our customers and their families, and we take matters like this very seriously,” Amazon said in a statement to Reuters. “We are reviewing all available information and are acting on our findings.
Referring to Amazon, Apple said, “We have shared these concerns with the developer and are working with them to ensure that their app is compliant with our guidelines.”
Google said in a statement that “Google Play doesn’t allow apps that contain or promote sexual content and we’ve been in contact with the developer about this issue.”
Such exchanges are rare among tech companies, which are competitive as well as interdependent on each other for a variety of services. Kindle and Amazon apps are consistently among the most downloaded on Google and Apple’s app stores.
The adult content at issue is primarily self-published through Amazon’s Kindle Direct publishing arm. Authors can publish their books through Amazon almost instantly and designate the content as available for the Kindle Unlimited service. In Amazon’s terms for its self-publishing arm, it says it can refuse to sell content deemed “offensive or inappropriate”, which can include material containing “pornography”.
Amazon is the world’s leading e-book distributor, controlling two-thirds or more of the market by some estimates. eBooks can be viewed on black-and-white Kindle devices, but can also be viewed in full color on the Kindle mobile app.
Three internet law experts interviewed by Reuters said Amazon was unlikely to face legal ramifications given First Amendment protections.
There is a body of law that broadly protects distributors of pornography and other potentially objectionable material, even though it may end up in the hands of minors, said Eric Goldman, a law professor at Santa Clara University, as opposed by two other experts. Comments echoed.
After Reuters alerted Apple to the availability of pornography in the Kindle app, Amazon earlier this month changed the age rating in the App Store from 4 years or older to 12 years or older. The app is rated “Teen” on Alphabet’s Google Play Store.
Companies may, at their discretion, remove an app from their App Store for violation of rules or for other reasons. And Apple and Alphabet have in the past policed their app stores for disapproved adult content, including removing apps that display explicit content or ads.
There are no parental controls available for the Kindle Unlimited service.
The Apple App Store guidelines “prohibit apps that depict openly sexual or pornographic content,” the company said in a statement. “App developers are responsible for moderating user-generated content on their platforms, and we work with developers to take immediate corrective action whenever we find an issue.”
Amazon said it was also updating the Kindle app, without giving details, and noted that its terms require parental involvement for users under 18.
Kindle Unlimited, for $10 per month, offers users a mix of self-published e-books and more traditional fare from publishing houses. The service has grown in popularity for customers seeking to read series such as the “Hunger Games” trilogy and other former bestsellers such as “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “The Queen’s Gambit.”
Kindle Unlimited has also spawned a cottage industry of self-published titles to cater to a wide range of interests, including text-based erotica with many thousands of titles in niche areas including dinosaur and alien erotica. Pornographic material can be found on Amazon’s site without a subscription and can be purchased for as little as $2.99.
According to three people who work in the Kindle division, Amazon generally allows authors to publish online without interference and will respond to credible complaints about copyright, content or other issues by removing the book. Amazon has software tools to help detect some disapproved content prior to publication.
The Seattle tech company has strict railings for its Amazon Kids+ service, the people said, but noted that it is designed and marketed to children ages 3 to 12, not 13 to 17. Kindle Unlimited as the only subscription service option for customers seeking book content aimed at
As of Monday, adult content was still available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited through the iOS and Android apps.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)