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Google Takes Down Artstation Android App for Explicit Content

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Re: Google Takes Down Artstation Android App for Explicit Content

#131

Post by morsch »

kijin wrote: post #106
glenndebacker wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a Flemish/Belgian museum try to post some historical Flemish Baroque paintings or statues on Facebook or a Google platform... For our clients that is a real problem. The irony is that you will a lot of those "explicit content" hanging or being displayed in Catholic Churches all over Europe so it has nothing to do with religion but only extreme (American) puritanism.

The Holy See should make an app containing every nude Michelangelo ever painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. I'd love to see the headline, "Vatican banned from the Play Store."

The Holy See famously had pants painted over many of Michelangelo's nudes.

Re: Google Takes Down Artstation Android App for Explicit Content

#132

Post by partiallypro »

Fnoord wrote: post #39
TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think sex is particularly messianic, but I also don't see why censoring and policing nominally adult content should be Google's business - literally or metaphorically. This is just one example from a growing list of questionable moral behaviour and outright abuse of monopoly power. The political reality is that Google has serious trust and credibility issues on many fronts. The more this kind of thing happens…

It is also an example of the USA shoving down its morals to the rest of the world. Especially areas where partial nudity is accepted. One of the very first things in life a baby does is searching the nipple (which is darker than the rest of the breast) and sucking on it. Breast are very much part of nature and human life, yet we censor it as if it is something which shouldn't be seen. At the same time, we have no iss…

The US has pretty liberal standards on pornography and art...I mean most pornography and such art is produced in the US itself. Tasteful nudity in the US is not frowned upon, perhaps in public, yes...but I don't know of many countries where that isn't frowned upon outside beaches. I'm not sure what you're referring to, or if you are that familiar with the US. The UK on the other hand and some other European countries...and many Eastern countries are battling porn/nudity if not outright banning it. With the UK even requiring you to register with your ISP. The US's FCC does have some stringent guidelines, but their restrictions only apply to OTA. What countries have a more liberal view? France? Germany? Spain, a few small countries here and there, maybe? Otherwise...not many others.

Re: Google Takes Down Artstation Android App for Explicit Content

#133

Post by morsch »

diminish wrote: post #3

Apple or Google don't ban URLs or websites on their Safari or Chrome browsers. Is that due to historical reasons or are there any laws regarding this?

It's not an outright ban, but it's not far off: https://safebrowsing.google.com/

They could add editorial policies to those criteria whenever they wanted. Or change a line of code to turn a drastic warning into a full block.

Re: Google Takes Down Artstation Android App for Explicit Content

#134

Post by AlexandrB »

bad_user wrote: post #129
krn wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I take this as the best explanation why Reddit is pushing its app so hard, even though it has a one of the most visited websites in the world. It's not about user engagement with content. It's about user engagement with ads.

I’ve said it multiple times ... aggressive ad-blocking is hurting the open web, because publishers need a revenue stream to survive and they won’t go down without a fight. This means shitty native apps, walled gardens and DRM.

Ads hurt the open web, because advertisers normally don't want to show up alongside even moderately risqué content. If we want sites with real freedom of expression, we have to find a real way to pay for it - via crowdfunding, micropayments, or whatever.

Re: Google Takes Down Artstation Android App for Explicit Content

#135

Post by gpm »

rayalez wrote: post #47

Somewhat unrelated - ArtStation has a browser extension that randomly opens a random artwork every time you open a new tab, and I highly recommend it, it's one of my favorite extensions and a great way to see some stunning artworks, it always brightens my day. On topic - dumb decision, nothing new, not very surprising, waiting for PWAs to get to a point where arbitrary Apple/Google rules don't matter anymore.

Hmm, for some reason that extension doesn't exist for Firefox.

And Mozilla's boneheaded policy of not allowing unsigned extensions, and apparently continuously breaking an addon that tried to automate signing extensions [0] means there is no easy way to install the chrome one.

[0] https://github.com/Noitidart/Chrome-Store-Foxified/issues/12...

Re: Google Takes Down Artstation Android App for Explicit Content

#136

Post by village-idiot »

Freak_NL wrote: post #62
pmlnr wrote: post #27

Dear corporations, As an european adult, I'm ok with adult and explicit content. Leave art alone.

A good part of their customer base (i.e., the advertisers) are not okay with explicit content, for a variety of reasons. Fear of their brand being associated with sex, puritan principles (their own or those of their customers), or just plain convinced that advertisements don't have the same impact when the content it is served with is arousing. That is to say, the corporations don't care, and will grant you a scant a…

I don’t think that’s quite it.

I remember back in the 1990s lots and lots of pearl clutching about various companies using sex to sell their products, especially beer. The idea that now advertisers are afraid of sex doesn’t really make a lot of sense to me.

What I really think it is is that most adults are pretty meh on the whole thing one way or another. Most of us look at some porn, but aren’t heavy users. There are however a very vocal minority who hate all adult content, and I think they’re being very successful in pressuring companies to take it down.

Re: Google Takes Down Artstation Android App for Explicit Content

#137

Post by AlexandrB »

ytqaz wrote: post #102
pjc50 wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can see this being driven by some combination of moral panic over teen sexting and FOSTA. Or the creepy version: photo app "oversight" that automatically notifies someone else (parent, abusive controlling partner) if nudity is detected in a camera photo.

If I was the parent of a teenager I would pay good to have this.

If I was your teenage child, I would hate you. The greatest gift my parents gave me was their trust.

Re: Google Takes Down Artstation Android App for Explicit Content

#138

Post by badpun »

ytqaz wrote: post #126
badpun wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s not my point. My point is that there’s plenty of crappy/failed cultures (tribes in jungles etc.) that allowed public nudity, but not a single successful one did. Maybe there’s something to it.

The psychology of shame and decorum, probably.

How does "shame and decorum" translate to success? Not to mention the fact that most likely all cultures, successful or not, have shame, as it's a direct consequence of having morals (and when you cross them, you feel ashamed).

Re: Google Takes Down Artstation Android App for Explicit Content

#139

Post by wccrawford »

AnonymousPlanet wrote: post #99
laser wrote: post #29

The suppression of the viewing of the human body in its natural form, especially in art, is one of the deepest perversions of society. It seems so intrinsically tied to the suppression and control of pleasure by institutions seeking dominance over human life. When you control access to the natural pleasures of life, you have control over the motivations and operations of that life. In prior times, when religions were…

I believe this to be one of the fundamental questions that will charaterize this new century: How is humankind going to cope with so much of humankind? How to deal with "someone's wrong on the internet"? There seem to be these possible answers: a) Everyone agrees to one narrative and moral standard. b) Everyone sticks to their little bit of the world and guards it with walls c) Live and let live and do not feed the t…

The problem with 'live and let live' is that you either choose to let people hurt other people, or you resolve to stop it.

If you resolve to stop it, then you have to deal with that problem that everyone thinks different things are harmful.

Some people honestly believe that porn is harmful to society and the individuals within it. It's not enough to just say "it's not harmful" because they believe it.

And I can't even say that it's not. Promiscuous sex transmits diseases that absolutely do harm people, and there are psychological aspects that I'm not even knowledgeable enough to start giving an opinion on.

Re: Google Takes Down Artstation Android App for Explicit Content

#140

Post by ReptileMan »

pmlnr wrote: post #37
ReptileMan wrote: post #14

The users can at least sideload it. Unlike appstore.

That is if you find the .apk from a source you trust, and this is not a simple trick.

If putting it on the main company side is good enough for threema and whatsapp I think it will be good enough for Artstation.
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