Overview
- The Tech Transparency Project reported 52 App Store listings and 18 Play Store listings tied to entities on the U.S. Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals list.
- Google removed all but one flagged app after contact from The Washington Post, while Apple removed 35 and said not all remaining listings violate sanctions as it strengthens reviews.
- Investigators said App Store pages showed developer, seller or copyright details that matched sanctioned entities, including Gazprombank, National Standard Bank and China’s XPCC.
- TTP described downloading the SDN list, normalizing names and using automated and manual searches of apps.apple.com and play.google.com to find matches.
- Legal experts quoted in coverage say Apple’s 2019 sanctions case heightens its current enforcement risk, and Treasury declined comment while urging companies to understand compliance obligations.