More than 50 blacklisted apps stayed on Apple’s App Store despite U.S. sanctions

As the U.S. escalates economic sanctions against nations like Russia and China to curb military aggression, human rights abuses, and illicit financing, a startling vulnerability has emerged: apps from sanctioned entities are quietly slipping through Apple’s App Store’s review process, peddling apps that could undermine American foreign policy.
A new investigation by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) reveals that at least 52 apps tied to U.S.-blacklisted firms remain available on Apple’s platform, with 18 more on Google Play, even months after sanctions took effect. These aren’t obscure tools — they include banking apps from Russian institutions fueling the war in Ukraine, satellite imagery software aiding Wagner mercenaries, and VPN services linked to international drug cartels. Despite vows from both tech giants to enforce Treasury Department sanctions, the TTP’s findings expose a lax vetting system riddled with blind spots: from sneaky name variations in developer listings to non-functional privacy policies that skirt basic review protocols.
Tech Transparency Project:
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TTP identified 52 apps in the App Store with direct connections to Russian, Chinese, and other companies that are under U.S. economic sanctions enforced by the U.S. Treasury Department. All of the apps listed a developer, seller, copyright holder, or other information on their App Store page that matched with a U.S.-sanctioned entity.
The investigation found that the Google Play Store had a similar problem, though at a lower level. Google’s app store hosted 18 apps connected to U.S.-sanctioned organizations, roughly a third of the number identified in the Apple App Store.
Apple and Google may be violating Treasury Department sanctions by simply hosting these apps. Because both companies charge a fee to app developers, they may also be engaging in financial transactions with sanctioned organizations in some cases.
These findings raise questions about how thoroughly Apple and Google vet the apps in their app stores. Both companies say they comply with U.S. sanctions, and Apple says it hold apps to the “highest standards” of security. But the apps identified by TTP showed obvious signs of their connection to sanctioned companies…
Apple declined to comment or respond to questions but asked for the list of apps, which TTP provided. Shortly after that, 18 of the apps disappeared from the App Store, leaving 17 available. (Another 17 apps were removed during the course of TTP’s research, though many of them had been available for months in the App Store after sanctions came into force.)
Google also asked for the list of apps and removed 17 of the 18 apps identified in the Google Play Store. Google declined to answer questions but provided a statement saying it is “committed to compliance with applicable sanctions and trade compliance laws,” adding, “If we find that an account violates our Terms of Service, we take appropriate action.”

MacDailyNews Take: Why is it that third-parties always find these type of issues with apps, but Apple’s App Store cannot or will not? Apple’s App Store should be way more proactive.
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MacDailyNews Note: Apple’s App Store Review Guidelines require all apps to “comply with all legal requirements in any location where you make them available.” When Apple pulls an app in a country due to that country’s laws or orders, it typically states, “We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate” and/or “We follow the laws in the countries where we operate.”

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