Apple Faces Scrutiny as Sanctioned Entities Slip Through App Store Controls

Apple's App Store has been unlawfully hosting dozens of apps tied to U.S.-sanctioned companies, according to a caller watchdog study (via The Washington Post).


The Tech Transparency Project, a non-profit advocacy group, flagged 52 apps successful the App Store that had links to entities recovered connected the Treasury Department's database of Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs), a designation that prohibits U.S. companies from doing concern with them.

Linked organisations included Russian fiscal institutions specified arsenic Gazprombank and National Standard Bank propping up Moscow's penetration of Ukraine, and China's Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), which has been sanctioned for engagement successful repression of Uyghur minorities. Another app was tally by a institution owned by an accused Lithuanian cause trafficker.

The linked entities reportedly utilized sanction variants, ammunition developers, oregon partial references to obscure their sanctions status.

Google's Play Store was besides recovered to beryllium hosting 18 apps for likewise sanctioned organizations. Google took down each but 1 of the apps aft being contacted by The Post. Apple removed 35 retired of 52 during oregon aft the investigation. Apple disputed that each the flagged apps interruption sanctions, but said it was enhancing its reappraisal process.

Apple antecedently committed to improving sanctions detection aft a 2019 Treasury colony involving a naming-variation failure.

According to The Post, the Treasury could person fined Apple much than $70 cardinal astatine the time, but said it accepted a colony of little than $1 cardinal due to the fact that Apple had self-reported, had not had a usurpation successful the preceding 5 years, and promised to revamp its authorisation hunt tools "to afloat seizure spelling and capitalization variations and to relationship for country-specific concern suffixes."

Legal experts accidental that anterior statement increases Apple's vulnerability now, since the latest akin lapses suggest its promised improvements were insufficient. The findings besides telephone into question Apple's long-standing assertion that its App Store provides a "safe and trusted" situation for users.
This article, "Apple Faces Scrutiny arsenic Sanctioned Entities Slip Through App Store Controls" archetypal appeared connected MacRumors.com

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