US News

APPLE DUMPS BABY-KILL APP

Apple yesterday yanked a despicable iPhone application from its online store — the “Baby Shaker” program that lets users simulate infanticide.

The 99-cent download brings up the image and sound of a crying baby. After vigorous shaking, the crying stops and red X marks cover the baby’s eyes, gleefully marking its death. A stopwatch times the user.

“Baby Shaker” first showed up on Apple’s App Store on Monday, but 2½ days of bad publicity finally forced the tech giant to dump it.

“Apple is supposed to have this rigorous vetting process where you can’t even curse on an application — but now it’s OK to simulate killing a baby?” said Jennipher Dickens, of the Sarah Jane Project, a group that seeks to prevent childhood brain injuries.

While “Baby Shaker” is gone from Apple, it’s still available through developer Sikalosoft.

The taste-challenged makers describe their program: “On a plane, on the bus, in a theater. Babies are everywhere you don’t want them to be! . . . See how long you can endure his or her adorable cries before you just have to find a way to quiet the baby down!”