Apple escalates its fight with Facebook following report of data-collecting iPhone app

Update 3:15 p.m.: A new TechCrunch report claims that Google is running a similar program that abuses Apple's Enterprise Developer Program guidelines.Apple has had it up to here with Facebook. Following a report by TechCrunch Tuesday night that the company had circumvented the App Store to distribute a “research” app to users, Apple has revoked a developer license from the social media giant, effectively shutting down any iOS apps that haven’t already been approved for the App Store.While the move won’t have an effect on your ability to post and message your friends using your iPhone, Facebook employees will certainly feel the repercussions. Without the developer certificate, Facebook’s internal iOS apps, which likely include beta versions of its consumer apps as well as company-specific resources, will no longer work. Apple hasn’t indicated whether this is a temporary ban or how it will monitor Facebook’s activities in the future, but it sends a clear message: Play by our rules or pay the price.To read this article in full, please click here