Apr 23, 2009 7:16 pm US/Eastern
Child Advocates Threaten Apple Over 'Baby Shaker'
Child Welfare Groups Say They We Will Protest Outside Stores Nationwide If Company Doesn't Explain Itself
Reporting
Cindy Hsu
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Apple Inc. was hit with criticism after featuring an iPhone game called "Baby Shaker," seen here, on their iTunes store.
CBS
Shake and shock!
Apple has quickly pulled the plug on a controversial game called "Baby Shaker" that was launched on Monday, and was available to millions of iPhone users.
But many parents who know the deadly consequences of shaking a baby say it's not enough.
Baby Shaker is an iPhone application where you silence a crying baby by shaking the phone. The goal is to get the two Xs that cross out the child's eyes. It costs 99 cents to download.
Darryl Gibbs couldn't believe it. His daughter, Cynthia, was just 8 months old when she died of massive brain damage after being shaken by a childcare provider.
"We have worked so hard over the years to educate the public, to teach parents positive coping skills to address crying. When I saw this application it just broke my heart," Gibbs said.
Sarah Jane is 3 ½ and suffered severe brain damage after being shaken by her baby nurse when she was 5 days old.
Her father and other parents held a press conference in front of the Apple store in SoHo, saying pulling the application with no explanation is not good enough.
"They need to make a public apology just in general for what they did and to the victims and families of Shaken Baby Syndrome," said Patrick Donohue of the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation. "Second, they need to explain exactly how this vetting process occurred."
David Carnoy is the executive editor of CNET and had his novel approved as an iPhone application in January. It was first rejected, but made it through after he took out the swear words. He said the review process takes one week and normally Apple is very strict.
"There's probably just some questionable judgment here," Carnoy said. "It maybe didn't seem obscene to someone who was reviewing it, but obviously once it got to the wider world it became a very serious problem."
The Shaken Baby Syndrome groups said if they don't get an apology and an explanation they'll start demonstrating in front of Apple stores nationwide.
CBS 2 HD contacted both Apple and the company that designed Baby Shaker for answers on how the application was approved, but has received no response.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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