Apple can Blacklist and Disable iPhone Apps

Apple can Blacklist and Disable iPhone Apps. Newly discovered code within the iPhone 2.0 Firmware and the newer iPhone 2.0.1 OS has confirmed that Apple has built a blacklisting mechanism in to the iPhone. The device can phone home, check for unauthorized applications, and disable them. The OS includes a URL that points to a page containing a list of unauthorized applications, specifically: (https://iphone-services.apple.com/clbl/unauthorizedApps)

The feature was uncovered by the author of the book iPhone Open Application Development and an iPhone Forensics manual, Jonathan Zdiarski, According to him:

"This suggests that the iPhone calls home once in a while to find out what applications it should turn off. At the moment, no apps have been blacklisted, but by all appearances, this has been added to disable applications that the user has already downloaded and paid for, if Apple so chooses to shut them down.

"I discovered this doing a forensic examination of an iPhone 3G. It appears to be tucked away in a configuration file deep inside CoreLocation."

(source)