Apple Halts Gambling Ads In App Store After Backlash From Developers — But Is The Issue Over?

Apple Inc. AAPL has paused advertisements related to gambling and a few other categories on App Store product pages, following criticism from developers and commentators. 

What Happened: Apple said on Tuesday that companies may advertise their apps on the store pages for other apps, placing their icon in the “you might also like” section. Developers soon started showing examples of gambling app advertisements under their apps, reported The Verge. 

Twitter Inc.’s TWTR namesake platform, too, was soon flooded with screenshots of inappropriate advertisement placements, including slot machine apps being advertised alongside gambling addiction recovery apps and adult video chats showing up on the Apple Book page. 

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Following the outcry, Trevor Kincaid, the Cupertino-based tech giant’s spokesperson, said that the company has “paused ads related to gambling and a few other categories on App Store product pages.” 

Why It’s Important: The iPhone maker is yet to clarify how long the pause would last or if it’ll make any policy changes based on this fiasco. It’s also unclear which other advertisement categories have been paused, pointed out MacRumors reporter Joe Rossignol, according to The Verge report.

Apple can borrow ideas from other companies working on this problem. For instance, Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL Google lets users limit the number of advertisements they see about potentially sensitive topics such as alcohol, gambling, dating, pregnancy and weight loss.

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