Apple Removes 'Mean-Spirited' Civil War Apps Displaying Confederate Flag

CUPERTINO (CBS SF) -- Apple pulled Civil War games from the App Store Thursday, joining other U.S. companies that have already banned the sale of any Confederate flag merchandise in reaction to last week's shooting massacre at a black church in Charleston.

According to Touch Arcade, the move doesn't come as a surprise, especially after CEO Tim recently spoke against displaying the rebel banner.

Apple has a history of banning apps that glorify oppression, injustice and racism. In the past, the company allegedly pulled a game depicting Germans and Russians as enemies.

In a statement to CBS SF, a Apple spokeswoman says they stand behind their most recent decision: "We have removed apps from the App Store that use the Confederate flag in offensive or mean-spirited ways, which is in violation of our guidelines. We are not removing apps that display the Confederate flag for educational or historical uses."

But game developers say that's not the case. Touch Arcade spoke with Andrew from HexWar Games who insists his historical strategy games are "no way sympathetic to the use of the flag in an offensive way, we used it purely because historically that was the flag that was used at the time."

In:
• Civil War
• Apple
• Tim Cook
• Racism