Google Preempts Porn Apps for Glass, Thwarted MiKandi Remains Upbeat

Over the past few months, a lot of aspects of Google Glass have creeped people out, mostly inadvertently, though sometimes by the very nature of the smart eyewear device. Of the creepier features of Google Glass, the possibility of facial recognition was paramount. On Monday, Google updated its developers policy for Google Glass, and the biggest news was that it would not allow facial recognition apps. But there was another ban in place, which almost everyone overlooked: No sexually explicit material.

On Monday evening, Google Glass's first porn app was banned by the company. According to CNBC, Jesse Adams, the CEO of MiKandi, the company that was developing the first Glass porn app, announced, "We have just learned that Google changed their policy over the weekend to ban our porn app for Google Glass. The website will function as normal, but we are making changes to the app to comply with the new policy."

The new policy, specifically outlined under Google's developer "Content policies," is rule number one in banned content: "1. Sexually Explicit Material: We don't allow Glassware content that contains nudity, graphic sex acts, or sexually explicit material."

The MiKandi app, called "T*** and Glass" (hint, it rhymes with a better-known phrase), would have been the first porn app on Glass, and like all things Glass, it would have been innovative. Last week, before Google changed its policies precluding such material, MiKandi Co-founder Jennifer McEwen told Zdnet, "We're experimenting with the features of glass... Obviously, Glass is perfect for shooting POV [point-of-view] video, so we're experimenting with that first... It can receive and send data, so there are a lot of interesting interactions that we want to explore." The app would have also made use of Google+ networks to enable photo sharing between Glass users.

In its short-lived run, the adult app store MiKandi got over 10,000 visits to the app page and a dozen Glass owners signed up with the app, said MiKandi's Adams, according to Zeebiz. In an interview with Mashable, MiKandi's McEwen lamented the state of her industry with regard to new technologies. "The old adage that porn drives tech is sadly no longer true," she said. "Over the last decade, adult companies have seen themselves locked out of more and more technologies and services - the latest being mobile applications. Adopting new technology is costly and time consuming, so it's no wonder why some the industry have become risk adverse."

As I mentioned in an op-ed last week, Google Glass is a particularly problematic, or creepy, technology for that industry to adopt. When you think of Google Glass Explorers, you tend to think of people out in public: someone sitting on the subway, someone at a business meeting, or a person walking down the street. And this is exactly what Glass is designed for, to take the "smart" out of handheld devices and instead plant it on your face so that it melts into your day-to-day life. Added to the always-on nature of the smartglasses, there's the fact that the eyepiece is fundamentally private; only the wearer can see what's onscreen.

A MiKandi representative wrote an up-beat response to that op-ed, saying, "These concerns are helpful when new technology emerges that pushes the boundaries on communication and sharing. But we shouldn't stop innovating because some people are oblivious to public boundaries. There are some people who answer their phone in a movie theater, but most know not to. We're optimistic that these issues will work out, because, in the end, devices like Glass are tools intended to empower individuals, not annoy the public."

With its most recent developer policy changes, Google indeed seems to be trying not to annoy the public with Glass. Only time will tell if they succeed.