Overview
- The Tech Transparency Project identified 52 App Store listings linked to sanctioned entities and 18 on Google Play using Treasury’s SDN list and store searches.
- After notification, Google removed all but one flagged app, whereas Apple removed 35 and disputed that all listings violated U.S. sanctions.
- Listings tied to Russian banks such as Gazprombank and National Standard Bank and to China’s Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps were among those flagged.
- TTP reported that app pages included identifying details matching sanctioned parties, with some findings also citing name variations and shell developers.
- Apple’s 2019 Treasury settlement over sanctions screening lapses and its pledge to improve tools heighten questions about current compliance and possible regulatory follow-up.