Apple has been accused of breaking the law by failing to comply with US sanctions after the App Store was found to have contain dozens of apps from sanctioned companies. The same was true of Google, though at a smaller scale.
The banned apps were identified by the Tech Transparency Project, which says it demonstrates that Apple failed to live up to its promises that the App Store represents a safe and trusted source …
App Store promise of ‘a safe and trusted place’
Apple has frequently described the App Store as a safe and trusted place for users.
Since launching in 2008, the App Store has been a safe and trusted place for users and a vibrant marketplace for developers to grow their businesses around the world. In the last five years, the App Store has protected users by preventing over $9 billion in fraudulent transactions, including over $2 billion in 2024 alone, according to Apple’s annual App Store fraud analysis.
The company has used this as justification for maintaining a monopoly on the sale of iPhone apps, except where antitrust regulators have forced it to allow competition.
Dozens of banned apps discovered
However, the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) discovered that the App Store contained dozens of apps from entities sanctioned by the US government.
Russian banks propping up Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. A Chinese paramilitary group linked to human rights abuses. And a company owned by an accused Lithuanian drug trafficker. These are some of the dozens of U.S.-sanctioned organizations that have offered apps in the Apple App Store, a TTP investigation found, raising questions about the iPhone giant’s dealings with entities deemed a threat to U.S. national security.
It’s illegal for a US company to have any kind of business relationship with a sanctioned entity.
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