Palestinian App Depicting Life in Gaza Rejected by Apple
BY: Nisreen Eadeh/Staff Writer
The gaming community has been reporting on a new app called Liyla and the Shadows of War because Apple refused to include it in the Game section of the App Store last week, claiming it was too politically charged.
Liyla and the Shadows of War is a black-and-white app that shows a girl navigating through the Gaza Strip. Players need to avoid bombings and shootings, solve puzzles, and attempt to find a safe house. After a review of the app, Apple charged that the content was not “appropriate in the Games category.” Rather, Apple suggested the app go under the News and Reference category because it contains political content.
No game invokes more emotion than LIYLA AND SHADOWS OF WAR https://t.co/pM7HycfiVS #indiegame #indiedev @NightRTs pic.twitter.com/US7NtxelGj
— PlayPlayFun (@playplayfun) May 24, 2016
The app’s creator, Rasheed Abueideh, a Palestinian, was told to revise his app by Apple, but he said no. Abueideh said the game does indeed have a strong “political statement,” but rejecting the game because some may disagree with the statement is feeding into the politics. Abueideh and his supporters fought against the censorship by calling out Apple on Twitter, and reminding the tech giant of the game’s numerous award nominations.
Based on Apple Review for my game @Liylawar “Liyla is not a game” @tha_rami @ST0RN0 pic.twitter.com/Sx7ee24SDL
— Rasheed Abueideh (@RasheedAbueideh) May 17, 2016
After a second review, Apple has decided to publish the app as a game. It is now available for free in the App Store. The app is also available for free in the Google Play store for Android users. Google did not object to the app.
This is not the first time Apple has received criticism for its censorship of games with political narratives. Back in 2012, Apple rejected an app that tracked U.S. drone strikes called Drones+. First, Apple rejected the content for being “not useful,” but by the third rejection, Apple called it “objectionable and crude.” The app’s developers argued that there were no crude images. Users were only sent push notification every time U.S. drones hit Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia, or places where the U.S. has “undeclared wars.”
photo from engadget.com
Although Liyla and the Shadows of War is now available in the App Store, censorship of games containing political messages seems unreasonable and wrong. It is important that Apple chose to reject a game based in Gaza that depicts the objective reality of dodging bullets and bombs. All Gazans are forced to find safe houses in times of war in Gaza, which is a common occurrence. By denying this reality, Apple is telling players, and Gaza, that their lives only matter politically, not humanly or in the virtual world.