Italy Demands Apple Remove Joke iTunes App; Starts Legal Action Against App Author
from the humor-sensors? dept
btr1701 passes on the news of how Italy's tourism minister apparently has absolutely no sense of humor. There's an app in the Apple iTunes store for iPhones and iPads called "What Country," which summarizes every country in quick stereotypical snippets. It's meant to be amusing. For example:Britain is characterised by "tea, weird sense of humour, football hooligans and rain", while Germany is summed up with "beer, discipline and autobahns". China is reduced to "overpopulation, kung fu, Great Wall, Tibet and tea ceremony", while the most defining characteristics of the US are "melting pot, hamburger and the American dream".As for Italy, well, it's summarized as "pizza, the Mafia and scooters." And, apparently, Italy's tourism minister, Michela Vittoria Brambilla, has such a lack of humor that she declared the app "offensive and unacceptable," demanded that Apple remove it from the store and (most ridiculous of all) is asking the state's attorney to take legal action against the author. Apparently, someone thinks it's illegal in Italy to make a joke about Italy.
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Filed Under: apps, italy, jokes, liability, mafia, pizza, scooters
Companies: apple
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Damn stereotypes
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Re: Damn stereotypes
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Re: Damn stereotypes
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Re: Re: Damn stereotypes
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Update
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Well, hey
Even the Mafia can be a positive influence in besieged communities.
Michela Vittoria Brambilla, sadly ranks lower than any of the above.
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Watch out
*honk* *honk* *honk*
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What's illegal
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100427/2329349205.shtml
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20 100305/1139318439.shtml
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100207/2246518070.shtml
http://www.tech dirt.com/articles/20100118/0311057792.shtml
...
Or one can just click on the "Italy" tag and keep reading, reading, reading...
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Re: What's illegal
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Ummm
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That should get the app 'fit for Italy'
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The minister is correct with his outrage!
It's an outrage I say!
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But they're facs
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Re: But they're facts
What the app mentioned "pizza, the Mafia and scooters" is merely listing what can be found in the country, or what the country is known for. Pizza came from Italy, as did the Mafia; was the scooter invented in Italy as well?
Does Italy not have free speech laws? (Oh wait, I remember, their Prime Minister owns most of the media in the country). Now I can see what would happen if Rupert Murdoch became President...
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The most important question
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Re: The most important question
> if he is from the US?
Then the most they can do is indict and try him in absentia (because the U.S. certainly isn't going to extradite one of its citizens to stand trial for something which is constitutionally protected here) and when they convict him, he'll never be able to go to Italy without fear of arrest.
Other than that, he won't have to worry about it at all.
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Damn
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just curious
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amazing
I'd say it seems pretty arbitrary, but I'm sure Apple had a perfectly swell reason to reject Stone and Parker's app.
Not.
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Hey Italy!!
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An Italian American says -
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You are all wrong!
Italy should NOT be identify by a well know company as Mafia or spaghetti! Period!
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Talk about racist :)
Ofcourse, this was written by someone in America, what a joke do you Americans honestly believe that is how the US is seen by the world ?
A melting pot !!!, you're joking, the US is highly sectarian, sure you come from different places originally but you are certainly NOT one, all in a melting pot.
Hambergers and the American dream, yea, right,
But its funny to see the various comments for various countries, it shows a very narrow, and bordering on racist attitude..
when you state for Britain "tea, weird sense of humour",
Weird sense of humour... HAHA, thats funny, and it shows that its probably (most probably) some US person who just 'does not get it'.
Maybe, "warm beer, football hooigans, cricket.
and US "cheap tacky goods, loud boisterous tourists, know it all's, self centered, and willing to war any and all comers.
How shalow to make claims like that about Itaily, when as has been stated here, the US is far worse than Itaily in respect of mafia, crime, Italian art, curture, history, cars, the Pope, and a history that makes the US look like babies in the pram.
Im from Australia, we came from convicts and crims mostly, and we have a short history in this country, but we dont claim to be the leaders of the planet.. (we just know we are :))
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same old crap
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It's not all
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It's not all
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It's not all
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Not Cool
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