A furore began towards the end of last week when it became apparent that Apple had begun removing up to 5,000 apps from the App Store for containing “overtly sexual” content.

The change in policy has caused some confusion and some apps remain untouched despite still containing questionable content. The New York Times spoke to Apple worldwide product marketing head Phil Schiller who helped clarify the situation.

According to Schiller, “It came to the point where we were getting customer complaints from women who found the content getting too degrading and objectionable, as well as parents who were upset with what their kids were able to see”.

Despite this an app from Sports Illustrated that shows bikini-clad women is still in the App Store. When questioned on this Mr. Schiller outlined that Apple looks at the intent of the content, “The difference is this is a well-known company with previously published material available broadly in a well-accepted format”.

When asked about the needs of developers who have had there revenue stream pulled from underneath them Schiller said that Apple needs to “put the needs of the kids and parents first”.