Source: TUAW.com
TUAW has reported that Apple in once again allowing developers of apps with a rating of 17+ to issue promo codes for up to 50 free downloads of their apps for giveaway or review purposes.
Last week, Apple had decided that those with 17+ ratings on their apps could not distribute these promo codes, which caused an uproar. According to Apple, any app that has an in-app web browser is automatically a 17+ rating due to the potentially offensive content that the Internet has to offer (think of Twitter apps, and remember the Tweetie incident regarding an update several months ago).
This move by Apple is only one week after the restriction began to gain attention, putting Apple in the spotlight and criticized by the masses. The reason Apple decided to disable promo codes for these apps was because the ratings do not apply with promo codes, meaning that anyone can download the 17+ app.
Luckily, it seems that Apple has been listening: over the past few days, we have received word from a number of developers stating that they are now able to request promo codes for their 17+ apps. While Apple has not made any official comment on the issue, it appears that they have quietly conceded this battle to the developers, once again enabling them to distribute promo codes as needed for all of their apps.
No word if there are any technical changes to the App Store to address this ratings issue or if it's just a policy change.
