A mother was reportedly left furious when her young daughter picked up an iPod in an Apple Store showing a video of a couple having sex.
The iPod, likely the iPod touch, the only iPod with Internet access, was on display at the Apple Store in Lakeside Shopping Centre.
"My daughter was with my husband in the shop when they picked up one of the demo models and were shocked to see pornographic material," the mother told the Thurrock Gazette.
"I called to complain and was told matter of factly by staff that this happens a lot as people come in and download it for a laugh. I don't find it funny and all my friends think it's disgusting, but Apple say there is nothing they can do to stop it totally."
Apple Stores appear not to have any web filtering software in place and customers regularly use iMacs and MacBooks in store to check email and surf the web freely without restrictions.
Anyone who has visited the flagship Apple Store on Regent Street will know that it can be difficult to get close to any computers and iPods, due to those treating the store like a giant Internet café.
The mother warned others about the policy, calling for a ban on Internet access in Apple stores. "Parents need to know that if their child goes into the store they need to be supervised, because the store can’t guarantee that the demo models won’t be playing pornography."
"If they can’t guarantee 100 per cent Internet safety for the kids that visit the store, then I feel as a they should not be allowed to offer Internet access to the public without supervision."
Rather optimistically, the Gazette contacted Apple to see what policy they had in place for "Apple demo products playing pornographic material."
In reply Apple told the newspaper: "We wouldn’t comment on the policy that we have in place."
Comments received
Kadoogan
said on
"Parents need to know that if their child goes into the store they need to be supervised..."
Shouldn't all kids be supervised whatever store they are in?
It would be wise for the store to have some kind of kiddie-friendly filter, but as long as Apple let people play with the devices it's hard to be sure they won't leave something dodgy onscreen just for a laugh.
Simon
said on
Sorry, as the child's mother - where were you?
Dan
said on
Sounds like a prelude to a compensation claim, expect a follow up in the Daily Mail sometime next week. :)
Gary
said on
The idea that children are harmed by seeing pornography stems from tabloid sensationalism. Pornography being "displayed" on an iPod does not threaten a child's safety; it just offends the sensibilities of the parents.
If the mother is offended by pornography, she should simply avoid returning to the store.
AdamC
said on
I am sure her husband enjoyed the porn. I am not surprise her innocent daughter know more porn sites than she.
cubestar
said on
I'm sure an action movie or an evening news story on the iraq war would have been perfectly acceptable...
scott
said on
I think it is a disgrace. A company of that size and retail experience should have proceedures in place to stop children or any customers having access to porn in their store. I will not be going to the store until they appologise to the family. It is so easy for a company of that size to shrug this off and say "it's not our fault." make a stand people and say "YES IT IS."
KenC
said on
A bit surprising that they don't filter.
Sykes
said on
Honestly, there is no way to 100% prevent display models from displaying porn unless patrons are not allowed to interact with the display models.
Right now, patrons are allowed to play around with the iPhone and iPods and all Mac items. Many of these devices have cameras. A patron can make an obscene gesture or take a picture of his or her private parts and it'll be on the device until the device is erased at the end of the day.
Honestly, I don't see any big whoo-ha over this. It's not as if Apple is actually putting porn on their display models. Patrons do that for fun or for a thrill. The only way to prevent that is to:
a) not let patrons interact with the devices, or
b) turn off the internet and camera functions entirely, or
c) put a staff to monitor each device station
None of these are really necessary. That mother just needs to lighten up and shake it off.
Helen
said on
I am the mother in this article my daughter is only 10 & was subjected to viewing anal sex on a demo model ipod touch in a public store. A store that encourages the public to test out its products so my daughter had every right to 'pick things up'& she was supervised by her father. Surprisingly enough hasn't seen anything like this before & I would have hoped as her parent that she wouldn't have had to at such a young age. To clarify I am not after anything from Apple & have told them this as I have taken the complaint to their Head Office. I am just a concerned parent who is worried that this could & more than likely will happen to another child or adult so I want to know they are changing or updating their internet safety filters in all stores.
J
said on
Sounds reasonable I suppose. The thing is, internet safety filters are no guarantee, as this material is not just restricted to porn sites - it could have been uploaded to a webmail account, or been copied somewhere else. The only way to absolutely avoid instances like this ever happening is to remove internet access altogether until a staff member is able to monitor the customers every finger-tap, or to restrict it to a limited number of websites. I'm sure Apple staff already have to keep an eye on what's on the screens, and it just sounds as if, on this occasion, there was a lapse.
James
said on
This sounds like a Daily Mail perfect storm...
- the DANGER of modernity!!
- FILTH
- "Won't ANYONE think of the children??!"
Expect a story featuring words like 'shame', 'obscene' and 'outrage' sometime soon*.
*Provided the family concerned are white and middle class, of course. Bonus points if Christian, too.
(With no offence intended to the family themselves, obviously)
Drew Cuthbert
said on
I wonder how this was playing, the iPod doesn't play Flash, the type of banners displayed on some sites I've seen, and you can't download movies on an iPod. Or am I missing something?
Thanks Helen for your comments. Sounds grim.
Rob
said on
There are numerous options to limit website access available. I am surprised that none of these are in situ in an environment such as the Apple Stores. At work we use SmartFilter which blocks specific categories of site as defined by a constantly updated database. We block porn, gambling & numerous other 'categories'. While not perfect it minimises the chances to surf where you shouldn't while at work ;)
Someone.....
said on
I work in an Apple reseller and we have Filters in place for this such thing..
Can't be hard Apple!
Phil
said on
Why oh why do parents blame EVERYONE else APART from themselves! Take responsibility for your child's actions. YOU should have supervised or your husband should have been more sensible. I suppose he 'accidentally' opened the file?! All Apple products can be operated by the simplest of people- Apple should not be held responsible for you marrying the village idiot!
Ratkat
said on
Filters will never block porn completely, just search for 'anchor butter' on google.co.uk my wife got a little surprise when she did yesterday
@Ratkat
said on
Thanks for that Ratkat - put me right of my breakfast.
My mate works at a charity where almost everything is blocked including Hotmail, Gmail, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace. Useless.
Shaun
said on
The last time I went to an Apple Store I couldn't get near any of the computers as the store was full of people playing on the internet so I went to John Lewis instead. Most Apple Stores are full of time wasters who never actually buy anything but clog up the store for the rest of us. You don't need to connect to the internet in store to buy an iMac, etc. If Apple wants to ensure genuine customers keep coming back to their stores they need to address this problem.
Shaun
said on
The last time I went to an Apple Store I couldn't get near any of the computers as the store was full of people playing on the internet so I went to John Lewis instead. Most Apple Stores are full of time wasters who never actually buy anything but clog up the store for the rest of us. You don't need to connect to the internet in store to buy an iMac, etc. If Apple wants to ensure genuine customers keep coming back to their stores they need to address this problem.
Nick
said on
The only time I visit my local Apple Store is first thing or late, when you can generally get to see the products. You are right about timewasters, I also see a lot of people with backpacks, tourists I suspect, looking at Hotmail etc.
GetReal
said on
these things are mini computers. to really try before you buy an expensive item like this it is essential to be able to access everything they can do. so live internet is a god thing. the fact that some thoughtless idiot accessed porn and left it without a thought for the offence of others is the real world though. A 10 year old should not have had access to a "computer" that has internet access then. Get educated mum.
David P
said on
If this woman does not like what is on the television then, she can tun it off. If she does not like what goes on in an Apple store then, she should stay away. Much ado about nothing.
Samuel
said on
That stupid 'Mother' causing this article to be made is just going to make every Apple-Store into a target for putting obscene content on their devices. Nice move! You're giving youths ideas, idiot.
Contact Us
Digg
It's easy and free to get the latest news headlines, reviews and opinions straight to your email inbox. Sign up NOW to make sure you receive the latest Mac news, reviews and tutorials on your favourite topics.
