Apple has been taking a lot of heat lately – including from this blog – over its rejection of a nifty application called Google Voice for use on the iPhone.

There’s widespread suspicion Apple acted under orders from AT&T, its exclusive network service provider for the iPhone, and the Federal Communications Commission is concerned enough that it has launched an investigation.

In the wake of the hubbub over Google Voice, some other iffy rejections of applications for the iPhone have been surfacing, in both the mainstream press and the blogosphere. In some ways these other rejections of apps by Apple are just as or more troubling than the Google Voice rebuff.

Take, for example, an application for the iPhone called “Freedom Time” made by New Orleans software developer Juggleware.

Sent to Apple for approval last September during the runup to the presidential election, Freedom Time showed an analog and digital clock counting down to the end of George W. Bush’s presidency. A caption beneath the clocks read “…till the end of an error.”

Here’s what Apple’s “iPhone Application Review Team” wrote to Juggleware in explanation of the rejection:

“Applications must not contain any obscene, pornographic, offensive or defamatory content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, etc.), or other content or materials that in Apple’s reasonable judgement (sic) may be found objectionable by iPhone or iPod touch users. Defaming, demeaning, or attacking political figures is not considered appropriate content for the App Store."

Fully expecting to be ignored, Freedom Time’s developer Alec Vance fired off an email to Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Jobs replied. Here’s what he wrote:

“Even though my personal political leanings are democratic, I think this app will be offensive to roughly half our customers. What’s the point? Steve”

So let us get this straight: Apple will reject iPhone applications it determines will “be offensive to roughly half our customers.”

Allow us to point you to “The Howard Stern Show Headline News & Episode Recap,” an application approved and available from Apple. We’re willing to make a pretty good bet that more than half of iPhone customers find the legendary shockjock “offensive,” as Jobs put it. You can head over to the web site and decide for yourself, if you are so inclined.

And if the concerns are about offending politicians, Apple should look inward a bit more. Podcasts of “The Rush Limbaugh Show,” “The Glenn Beck Show,” “The Daily Show,” and “The Colbert Report” are all available on Apple’s iTunes web site. All of them regularly convey material that is much more offensive about politicians than a simple little countdown clock.

As advocates for consumers, one of our biggest concerns about Apple, AT&T or any other computer or Internet company is when they try to play gatekeeper. That type of behavior is anti-consumer and anti-competitive. It also stifles technical innovation and freedom of expression.

Apple has headed down a very slippery slope, whether or not it was pushed by AT&T. We’ll be watching closely to see what comes from the FCC investigation of the Google Voice rejection.