Earlier this year Apple denied me access to App Store Connect after deciding that I matched someone on a U.S. government restricted-party list.
Their explanation was fairly definitive:
“The information you provided fully matches one or more restricted parties on the U.S. government consolidated screening list or another government’s sanctions list.”
I replied with my full legal name, Sean Joseph Byrne, uploaded my driver’s license, and pointed out the address on the government record they appeared to be matching me against. I’ve never lived at that address, never lived in County Sligo, and have no connection to the company involved. I asked them to escalate it to their sanctions compliance folks and make a proper non-match determination.
Apple’s response after reviewing my identity information.
I knew what had happened because this wasn’t the first time.
Search the U.S. government’sConsolidated Screening Listfor Sean Byrne and you get exactly one result:
Sean ByrneCloonmull HouseDrumcliffe, County SligoIreland
Source:Entity List, Bureau of Industry and SecurityAdded:July 21, 2009License requirement:All items subject to the EARLicense policy:Presumption of denial
The Consolidated Screening List isn’t itself a sanctions list. It’s a U.S. government screening tool that combines a number of export-control, sanctions and other restricted-party lists maintained by the Departments of Commerce, State and Treasury.
The person in the search result isn’t me. More interestingly, it doesn’t appear to be anyone.
The entry came out of the prosecution of an Irish aircraft-parts business called Mac Aviation. In 2009, theDepartment of Justice described Sean Byrneas Mac Aviation’s commercial manager and charged him alongside Thomas and Sean McGuinn over the illegal export of U.S. aircraft equipment to Iran.