iTunes license agreement says you can’t use it to make nuclear weapons

iTunes 11 (Albums)

Folks in the illegal arms manufacturing industry may want to double check the iTunes End User License Agreement before using the software for business. Apparently there’s a clause in the agreement that says you can’t use the app to make nuclear weapons.

It’s not a new addition by any means—I found references to the clause dating back to 2008. But given the fact that the gem has been rediscovered this week, and is causing quite a bit of commotion in the tech world, we figured it was worth sharing this morning…

Here are the lines, which can be found in section g of the iTunes End User License Agreement, as pointed out by The Loop’s Jim Dalrymple:

“You may not use or otherwise export or re-export the Licensed Application except as authorized by United States law and the laws of the jurisdiction in which the Licensed Application was obtained. In particular, but without limitation, the Licensed Application may not be exported or re-exported (a) into any U.S. embargoed countries or (b) to anyone on the U.S. Treasury Department’s list of Specially Designated Nationals or the U.S. Department of Commerce Denied Person’s List or Entity List. By using the Licensed Application, you represent and warrant that you are not located in any such country or on any such list. You also agree that you will not use these products for any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture or production of nuclear, missiles, or chemical or biological weapons.”

The design part I get, as I’m sure this covers App Store apps like Evernote and Paper that you could use to brainstorm. But I can’t imagine how someone would use iTunes to ‘manufacture’ nuclear weapons. That’s like saying don’t use Instagram to make illegal drugs.

Joking aside, I’m sure Apple is just trying to cover all of its bases here. But still, it’d be interesting to hear the conversation between the company’s lawyers and other legal advisors that led to this being added to the user agreement. “Yes, chemical weapons too.”

Happy Sunday!