Sex Offender Locator App Pulled

From PC World: Apple booted another popular app today from its iPhone App Store and it appears it did the right thing.

The iPhone application Offender Locator, designed to locate sexual offenders, has been deleted from the App Store and the reasons for its disappearance are uncertain. But some have it that Apple is merely complying with California state laws prohibiting the sale of criminal information for a profit.

If true, I support Apple's decision because it creeps me out to think some company is attempting to profit off of sexual predators. This information is free and access should remain that way.

There are reports the developers of Offender Locator are prepping a lawsuit, presumably because Apple's reasoning wasn't good enough. But is the fuss worth it, or is this an attempt by the makers of Offender Locator on lashing out at Apple and attempting to jump on the you've-got-some-nerve-to-ban-my-app bandwagon and tarnish the App Store's reputation?

Offender Locator, published by ThinAir Wireless, uses the iPhone's GPS to scout the locations of registered sex offenders living in a designated area. Users can click on an address and pull up detailed information about the offender -- all of which is readily available through innumerable Web sites such as Family Watchdog (which already has an iPhone app of its own). Offender Locator sat on the top 10 paid apps list for many weeks before succumbing to a fate that has befallen many controversial iPhone apps.

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