Apple Restores Facebook's Enterprise Certificate After Data Privacy Scandal
Apple reinstates Facebook's internal app access after a two-day suspension triggered by a secret data collection program, while Google faces similar punishment for its own snooping app.
Apple restores Facebook's Enterprise Certificate after a two-day suspension that completely disrupts the social network's internal operations. The tech giant initially revokes Facebook's developer privileges as punishment for distributing a data-snooping app that violates Apple's employee-only distribution rules, leaving employees unable to access workplace collaboration tools, beta software, and even the company lunch menu.
Google now faces the exact same punishment after TechCrunch reveals a similar privacy violation through an app called Screenwise Meter. Apple invalidates Google's Enterprise Certificate, breaking Google's internal iOS apps, though the search giant experiences less chaos than Facebook because a large portion of its workforce uses its own Android devices.
Both tech giants exploit the Enterprise Certificate program to secretly pay users between $10 and $20 per month for deep access to their phone activity. The Facebook Research app demands root network access to intercept and decrypt secure user transmissions, gathering competitive intelligence on rivals to copy or acquire, while Google quickly pulls its app and apologizes to avoid further backlash.