Rifle emoji got scrubbed because of Apple, report says

The next emoji update will be two characters short of what was originally planned — the result of a "late stage" change, according to the organization overseeing the symbols. Now, a new report suggests the change may have come from an unlikely source: Apple. 

The tech giant apparently used its influence with Unicode Consortium, the organization responsible for the development of new emoji, to prevent two new characters depicting rifles from being included in the upcoming Unicode 9.0 update, according to a report in BuzzFeed.

The two characters, originally slated to roll out with 72 other symbols later this month, were a rifle and a "modern pentathlon," which depicted a man shooting a gun. Both symbols were apparently tied to the upcoming Olympic Games (rifle, shotgun and pistol shooting are all Olympic events and pistol shooting is part of the modern pentathlon.)

Citing "sources in the room" BuzzFeed reports that Apple initiated the conversation to remove the two characters from the Unicode 9.0 update during a meeting in May. Microsoft, also a voting member of Unicode, reportedly agreed with Apple, though it sounds like the decision was not a controversial one for the organization.

Unicode confirmed last month that the rifle and modern pentathlon characters would not be included in the 9.0 update but didn't elaborate why they were removed at such a "late stage."

"These will not be recommended for emoji presentation by vendors when the final version of Unicode 9 is released next month," the organization wrote of the symbols in a blog post.

It's not clear exactly why Apple objected to the emoji but, as BuzzFeed points out, the characters had already faced criticism from gun control activists in the UK. 

Even though the Unicode Consortium itself is an independent organization, member companies like Apple and Microsoft and Google — who are tasked with implementing the characters on their platforms — vote to approve symbols. And it's these companies, not Unicode, who would likely face most of the blowback if public opinion were to turn against the new characters.

Unicode's 9.0 update, which will add 72 new emoji characters, including bacon, avocado and selfie symbols, will be released June 21, though it will take some time for Google, Apple and others to integrate them into their operating systems.