"Black list" for malicious iPhone apps discovered?

The purported list—empty, for now—was discovered by a noted iPhone hacker and author, who believes that it proves the iPhone occasionally "calls home" to see which, if any, applications should be turned off.

iPhone Atlas reports that author Jonathan Zdziarski, while "doing a forensic examination" of the latest iPhone, found an interesting URL "tucked away in a configuration file."

Zdziarski followed the URL (with an "iphone-services.apple.com" domain) to a Web page that includes some code with the words "BlackListedApps," "Description = Being really bad!," and "App Name" = "Malicious" (probably a test application name, as Macrumors notes).

Hmmm, so what does it all mean? According to Zdziarski:

This suggests that the iPhone calls home once in a while to find out what applications it should turn off. At the moment, no apps have been blacklisted, but by all appearances, this has been added to disable applications that the user has already downloaded and paid for, if Apple so chooses to shut them down.

Creepy—although it's worth noting that Steve Jobs admitted from the get-go that Apple would be able to reach out and deactivate any malicious App Store programs, if need be.

Also worth noting (as Macrumors points out) is that the various programs that have been recently pulled from the App Store—including the laptop-tethering NetShare app, BoxOffice, and the ridiculous, $999 "I Am Rich" program—aren't on the (suspected) black list, and that all three still work (well, if you can call "I Am Rich" a program that "works") for those who previously downloaded them.

Of course, there's a couple different ways of looking at this. One argument: Apple's ability to deactivate iPhone apps at will is simply a prudent security measure, especially in light of the iPhone's high profile (which makes it a prime target for malicious hackers).

Another argument: The "black list" is yet another manifestation of Apple's extreme control freakiness, and it's not cool that the iPhone—which we paid for—is periodically "phoning home" to report on  our activities. (Also: If a for-pay application gets black listed, will users get a refund?)

Any thoughts? (Check out the now-raging discussion thread at MacRumors for inspiration.)

Related:
iPhone can phone home and kill apps? [iPhone Atlas]