The app, dubbed Good2Go, allowed users to give 'affirmative consent' prior to sexual activity
Despite all of its developer's good intentions, an app designed to tackle sexual assault has shut down.
Dubbed Good2Go, the app allowed users to give 'affirmative consent' prior to sexual activity.
But to do so, they had to tell the app who they were sleeping with, when they were doing it, and how drunk or sober they were.
They were then advised as to whether they could consent to sex.
Lee Ann Allman created the app after speaking to her teenage children about sexual assault on American college campuses.
However,
earlier this week Apple removed it from its App Store citing that its
developer guidelines do not allow 'excessively objectionable or crude
content.'
The firm did not give the exact reasons why the app was pulled.
This led to Ms Allman deciding to remove the free app from the Android store, Google Play, and shut down the site completely.
Ms Allman told Slate Magazine that, while Apple didn’t provide details about its decision to remove the app, 'they did say it was not deemed to be crude.'
She added that she hopes to relaunch the app next year, without the registration steps.
It is hoped it will be used by schools to talk about sexual assault and consensual sex.
When
the app launched, Ms Allman, who also runs Sandton Technologies, said
she hoped the technology would help facilitate necessary conversations
between sexual partners and encourage them to reflect on
their sobriety.
Last month, California Governor
Jerry Brown signed a law requiring all state colleges to adopt a policy
of unambiguous, affirmative consent by students engaged in sexual
activity.
The
so-called 'yes means yes' law will be the first in the nation to make
affirmative consent language a central tenet of school sexual assault
policies, proponents said.
Lee Ann Allman created the app
(pictured) after speaking to her teenage children about sexual assault
on American college campuses. However, earlier this week Apple removed
it from its App Store citing that its developer guidelines do not allow
'excessively objectionable or crude content'
This led to Ms Allman deciding to
remove the free app from Google Play, and shut down the site completely.
Ms Allman said she hopes to relaunch the app next year, without the
registration steps, as an educational app only
The
legislation, passed by the California State Senate in August as part of
a nationwide effort to curb sexual assaults on U.S. campuses, defines
consent as 'an affirmative, conscious and voluntary agreement to engage
in sexual activity.'
It
also states that silence and a lack of resistance do not signify
consent and that drugs or alcohol do not excuse unwanted sexual
activity.
The
White House has declared sex crimes to be 'epidemic' on U.S. college
campuses, with one in five students falling victim to sex assault during
their college years.
Ms Allman's app was said to have been a direct response to this legislation.
To
be accepted onto the App Store, apps must be functional in that they
must not crash, include hidden features or work in a way other than what
the developer advertised.
They must also have a user function and developers can't charge for app that doesn't do anything.
Any
app that is defamatory, offensive, mean-spirited, or likely to place
the targeted individual or group in harms way will be rejected.
Last month,
California Governor Jerry Brown (pictured) signed a law requiring all
state colleges to adopt a policy of unambiguous, affirmative consent by
students engaged in sexual activity. Ms Allman's app was said to have
been a direct response to this legislation
Apps
that present excessively objectionable or crude content will be
rejected along with apps that are designed to upset or disgust users.
Apps
containing pornographic material, defined by Webster’s Dictionary as
'explicit descriptions or displays of sexual organs or activities
intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional
feelings', will be rejected.
In
summary, Apple said: 'We will reject Apps for any content or behavior
that we believe is over the line. What line, you ask? Well, as a Supreme
Court Justice once said, “I’ll know it when I see it”. And we think
that you will also know it when you cross it.'
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