Should Apple scrap a 'gay cure' app?

Critics lash the tech giant for approving an app that claims to convert gay users to heterosexuality

The Exodus International app: Apple is facing a barrage of criticism for approving the controversial "gay cure" app.
(Image credit: Screen shot, itunes.com)

Exodus International, an iPhone app created by a Christian group of the same name, claims that homosexuality is a choice — and promises that the app's users will gain "freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus." Apple approved the Exodus International app, rating it four out of five stars which indicates "no objectionable content," although the app calls homosexuality "satanic." That decision spurred a backlash from gay-rights groups, who want the app taken off the market. Should Apple comply?

Apple needs to dump this app now: The "hateful and bigoted" Exodus app certainly qualifies as "offensive material," says nonprofit Truth Wins Out, which organized a petition drive against Apple. Every reliable medical organization has denounced so-called "reparative therapy" for homosexuality, and it's "particularly galling" that Exodus is marketing its app to young people, given the wave of recent LGBT suicides. Apple bans racist content; why the "double standard"?

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