Apple Pulls Controversial Fake ID App

Apple has pulled a new application from its popular App Store after a United States senator complained terrorists could outfox law enforcement by using it to make fake identification cards. However, the removal has met with criticism from many users.

"License" was originally released by DriversEd.com, to let Apple users take pictures of themselves and place their photo on a driver's license template. The point never was to help terrorists (or teens hoping to get their hands on alcohol) create fake IDs, but simply to help Apple users get creative with photos of themselves and their friends. (Source: washingtonpost.com)

App Was Considered a National Security Threat

But that's not how Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa) sees things.

Casey became concerned that the application could actually threaten U.S. national security. In a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Casey wrote, "National security systems depend on the trustworthiness of driver's licenses, yet with a counterfeit license created by the app, a terrorist could bypass identity verification by the Transportation Security Administration, or even apply for a passport."

Casey's point appears to have been taken quite seriously by the Cupertino-based tech giant, which responded by pulling the application from its App Store.

Making a Fake ID Not Easy

DriversEd.com representative Gary Tsifrin expressed his distress over the decision in a recent defense of the app.

Tsifrin noted the software was specifically designed to use fonts distinctively different from those on standard licenses. In addition, photographs used with the app feature both low image resolution and the DriversEd.com logo, so there would appear to be little chance anyone would mistake a fake ID for a real one.

Overall, Tsifrin thinks it would be extremely unlikely that anyone could use his company's app to fool a police officer or border security agent.

"It would take a lot more expertise to rejigger the driver's license app [to create a fake license]," Tsifrin said, while adding, "It would be much easier to start from scratch." (Source: go.com)

Tsifrin also noted that his app has been available for two years, during which time there have been no complaints about fake IDs having been created with it.