Scottish politicians and human rights groups have called for a ban on a 59p program that turns Apple iPhones into portable versions of the anti-teen Mosquito device.
Teen Torture, which can be downloaded from the Apple store, uses the speaker on either the iPhone or the new iPod Touch to broadcast high-pitched frequencies inaudible to adults but unbearable to people under 20.
One SNP member of the European Parliament called the program an "odious device" and warned that adults could use it to mete out vigilante punishment to anti-social teenagers. He warned that anyone caught using Teen Torture could be dealt with under breach of the peace laws.
Scotland's Children's Commissioner announced plans to discuss the matter with her counterparts in England and Wales as well as Apple itself.
Alyn Smith MEP has campaigned against the Mosquito - which uses ultrasonic frequencies to disperse youths. It is now banned by several Scottish councils. He is angry that Apple let this "stupid bloody program" be sold by its store.
He said: "Why on earth would Apple alienate so much of their market? It's a stupid decision on their part. They are usually pretty clever with their marketing and youth appeal. For them to sign off on something like this is shooting themselves in the foot."
He added: "I look forward to a total EU-wide ban on this program, as well as the Mosquito, and to discussions on more productive ways of dealing with anti-social youths."
The Teen Torture program has been designed by Inner Four, an American company that specialises in making what CEO David Rajala calls "fun, whimsical" software for Apple's portable devices.
He said: "We wanted to make an application where parents could annoy their teenagers with high-pitched sounds. From our point of view, it was a prank kind of technology."
Kathleen Marshall, Scotland's Children's Commissioner, disagrees. She promised action on the program and said: "The UN committee on the rights of the child has expressed concern about the use of the Mosquito devices on which this product is based. It is shocking that a product can be marketed with the aim of annoying or torturing' teenagers."
Hours after the Sunday Herald spoke to Inner Four, a disclaimer was posted on their website that reads: "Educational use only. Any use as a human rights violation or actual torture of anyone is expressly forbidden."
The firm's claim that the device has some educational use were pooh-poohed by the Scottish Youth Parliament.
Steven Kidd, its development officer, said: "Whilst we're sure many teens consider school to be torture, we doubt that there could be any educational use of the application. We hope that Apple will recognise "Teen Torture" as another cynical attempt to demonise law-abiding young people and move quickly to remove the item from its online store."
The Mosquito device met a storm of protest from civil liberties groups, who said its targeting of one age group violated their human rights.
Human rights group Liberty took part in a campaign called Buzz Off calling for the Mosquito to be banned. It is also concerned about the new version of the device.
Apple could not be reached for comment.
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