Apple and Google pull cosmetic surgery game aimed at children

Apple and Google recently removed Plastic Surgery for Barbie, a cosmetic surgery game aimed at children, from the iTunes App Store and Google Play.

Plastic Surgery for Barbie, pulled from the iTunes App Store on Jan 14., was marked suitable for children aged 9 and over. The game tasked players with performing plastic surgery procedures on a female character, such as carrying out liposuction on the character's "six problem areas." Users could then compare before and after shots of the results.

"This unfortunate girl has so much extra weight that no diet can help her," the game's description read. "In our clinic she can go through a surgery called liposuction that will make her slim and beautiful."

Google confirmed with the BBC that the app has been removed, stating that while it doesn't comment on individual apps it "will remove apps that breach our guidelines."

In a statement issued to the publication, toy manufacturer Mattel said that the use of Barbie's branding was not sanctioned by the company and that it takes its "commitment to children seriously and work hard to ensure there are no unauthorized uses of our brands that may be unsafe or inappropriate for children."

"This app has since been removed from iTunes," the statement read. "At Mattel, we take our commitment to children seriously and work hard to ensure there are no unauthorized uses of our brands that may be unsafe or inappropriate for children."

A similar app called Plastic Surgery Barbara was made available on the iTunes store shortly after the original was removed. The second app is no longer available.