As Apple has been removing popular apps in Iran from the App Store, the company has been sharing a message with developers saying that U.S. sanctions are the cause of the issue.
The New York Times reports that a popular app in Iran which was similar to Uber was pulled from App Stores today. In previous weeks shopping and food delivery apps have also been removed. Apple is reportedly now “…moving aggressively to shut down Iranian apps.”
Here’s the information that Apple has been sending to affected developers:
NYT writes that due to the U.S. sanctions, Apple doesn’t operate any official business in Iran or have an Iranian App Store. However, millions of iPhones are smuggled in to the country and developers use other countries’ App Store to create and share apps.
One business owner whose app was removed wrote the following:
Interestingly, Google interprets the U.S. regulations differently than Apple and is taking the following approach:
Earlier in the year Apple removed The New York Times apps in China due to violation of local regulations. Late last month, Apple began removing VPN apps from the China App Store, sharing with developers that it was due to illegal content being contained in the apps.
Our Benjamin Mayo noted:
Apple declined to comment on the issue to The New York Times.
