Why Virtual Reality journalism won't work on iOS

VR-based journalism app Ferguson Firsthand was pulled from Apple's App Store for breaching "inappropriate subject matter" guidelines.

Ferguson Firsthand, as shown in the video below, allows you to investigate the infamous 2014 shooting of Michael Brown according to eyewitness accounts and other independent research.

Using the phone's accelerometer and a Google Cardboard this environment can be moved through almost as if you were there.

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As the Google Cardboard and other headsets like it have become cheaper, 'VR-journalism' has become a popular and easy way to transport people 'inside' the story, but Ferguson Firsthand's removal highlights a problem with the way this information is presented:

What happens when a storefront designed to give a platform to games and productivity apps is asked to moderate journalism too?

Apple has a history of removing controversial content from the App Store and has previously come under fire for the removal of educational apps containing the Confederate flag from the service.

Other high profile removals include Endgame: Syria and Smuggle Truck, both of which later made their way to the marketplace with different names and edited concepts.

In the case of Ferguson Firsthand even a new name is unlikely to save it. Journalist Dan Archer who worked on the app was called by an Apple customer service representative and told the app was being rejected for "the subject matter".

Archer wrote about the experience on Medium. When he pushed the rep regarding what he could change to get the app accepted, the anonymous Apple spokesperson explained:

"The app 'refers to a very specific event' and suffered from 'too narrow scope'. She continued, 'something targeted at a specific event is not appropriate'. Instead, I was recommended to 'develop an app around a topic - a new topic'"

The App Store is Apple's playground and so there's nothing to stop the company from taking their ball and going home, however it's a bad start considering their recently announced attempts at moving into journalism.

While I don't agree with the many people calling the removal of Ferguson Firsthand an act of journalistic censorship - I see more a case of Apple covering itself from any potential controversy - it does set a worrying precedent for those looking to bring more virtual reality journalism to smartphones.

If you don't like a journalistic institution you can get your news elsewhere, whereas Apple has total control over what is allowed on their devices.

With a 44 percent marketshare, that's nearly half of all mobile consumers cut off from any content they deem to be unsuitable. Rupert Murdoch can't even dream of that level of control.

Apple has often professed its own guidelines regarding content to be "evolving", and with the rise in VR-Journalism it might be time for them to ring-fence its journalism and art content from the more standardised guidelines.

After all, apps like Ferguson Firsthand allow people to experience a situation that's a thousand miles from where they are.

As Apple moves towards ownership of its own news 'channel' we can only hope that it will bring in measures to help protect other instances of immersive journalism - otherwise this new way to experience the news could be dead in the water before it starts.