Apple Removed ICEBlock From App Store Under DOJ Pressure
“This is protected speech,” said the app’s creator. “We are determined to fight this with everything we have."
Under pressure from the Department of Justice (DOJ), Apple removed crowdsourcing apps used to alert users about federal immigration activity in their area from the company's app store on Thursday. The developer of ICEBlock—one of the apps removed—is determined to fight for the app, which he says is protected speech under the First Amendment.
At the direction of United States Attorney General Pam Bondi, the DOJ asked Apple to remove ICEBlock, which the Trump administration claims puts Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in danger by allowing users to anonymously report officers' presence. "ICEBlock is designed to put ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs, and violence against law enforcement is an intolerable red line that cannot be crossed," Bondi told Fox News in a statement.
Joshua Aaron, ICEblock's software developer, told CNN that he launched the platform to fight back against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown and help users avoid interactions with ICE. But controversy was stoked in early July after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said her agency was "working with the Department of Justice" to potentially prosecute CNN for reporting on the app and "actively encouraging people to avoid law enforcement."
Controversy flared again after FBI Director Kash Patel released details in September that Joshua Jahn, who is suspected of opening fire at an ICE facility in Dallas last month, used apps that "tracked the presence of ICE agents." Although Patel didn't name ICEBlock, the well-known app was painted as a danger to federal agents.
But Aaron has steadfastly defended the app as protected speech, akin to flagging police speed traps. "ICEBlock is no different from crowd sourcing speed traps, which every notable mapping application, including Apple's own Maps app, implements as part of its core services," he told 404 Media following the app's removal. "This is protected speech…we are determined to fight this with everything we have." It is unclear at this time how Aaron plans to challenge Apple's ruling.
In the email Aaron received announcing the app's removal, reviewed by 404, Apple said that upon re-evaluation, the ICEBlock violated guidelines "because its purpose is to provide location information about law enforcement officers that can be used to harm such officers individually or as a group"—based on "information provided to Apple by law enforcement."
The First Amendment protects ICEBlock in the same way it protects apps like Google Maps and Waze, and prohibits the federal government from infringing on the app's development and use. However, Apple is a private company and not limited in the same way. Needless to say, the DOJ's indirect interference on ICEBlock—and its 1.1 million users—through private companies like Apple is deeply troubling.
"I am incredibly disappointed by Apple's actions today," Aaron told 404. "Capitulating to an authoritarian regime is never the right move."
