Apple Briefly Approved 'Baby Shaker' App, Issues Apology

A 99-cent application by the name of 'Baby Shaker' appeared briefly in the App Store yesterday, but was quickly removed by Apple after an uproar from users who found it to be inappropriate and offensive. The simple application displayed a crying baby on the screen with the instruction being that users should listen to the crying for as long as possible before shaking the iPhone to make the baby stop.

The Associated Press reports that Apple issued a statement apologizing for approving the application and stating that its approval had been an error.

Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said Thursday that the game was "deeply offensive" and said it should not have been approved for sale. "We sincerely apologize for this mistake," Kerris said in a statement.

The incident has put Apple's approval process in the spotlight again. Though in the past, Apple has been criticized for being too restrictive with publishable content in the App Store. They have previously rejected a number of apps from the App Store for a variety of reasons. SF Gate suggests that the incident may even make Apple become more conservative about App approvals in the future.