Apple Removes Prominent Iranian-Based Apps from the App Store
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Apple is reportedly removing Iranian apps from the App Store. According to Iranian tech site TechRasa, Apple has been specifically removing apps that “facilitate transactions for businesses or entities based in Iran.”
Although there are, according to TechRasa, some 40 million smartphones in Iran, 6 million of which are iPhones (with an additional 100,000 iPhones smuggled into the country every month), there is currently no official App Store in Iran. Apple briefly opened the app store to Iranian users in October of last year, although most users were still unable to download paid apps or use the in-app purchase system for many apps due to the fact that Iranians still have no access to international payment mechanisms. According to TechCrunch, many Iranian companies resort to registering their apps as being created outside of Iran in order to get onto the App Store, and several Iranian banks have created iOS apps that are often side-loaded onto users’ phones.
No comprehensive list of which apps that have been removed has been compiled as of yet. Most notably, perhaps, Digikala, the largest e-commerce startup in Iran and the Middle East, had their app removed from the App store. Digikala serves around 750,000 unique visitors a day, and accounts for over 80% of Iran’s e-commerce. Digikala’s app disappeared from the App Store several days ago with no explanation, although a notice from Apple to Iranian developers rejected from the App Store hints that the removal of the aforementioned apps has to do with the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations issued by the US Department of Treasury.
“Unfortunately, there is no App Store available for the territory of Iran. Additionally, apps facilitating transactions for businesses or entities based in Iran may not comply with the Iranian Transactions Sanctions Regulations (31CFR Part 560) when hosted on the App Store. For these reasons, we are unable to accept your application at this time. We encourage you to resubmit your application once international trade laws are revised to allow this functionality.“
Somewhat surprisingly, the most prominent app affected by the sanctions, Digikala, uses the Shaparak payment system, which is, as TechCrunch describes, “completely isolated from international systems, so would in theory not contravene Apple’s [terms and conditions].” There are several other options available to app developers to allow in-app payments, as well, that theoretically would not violate the sanctions put forth by the US Department of Treasury. It’s unclear at this point whether or not Apple will work towards addressing the issue. The company has yet to issue an official comment on the matter.
