Apple dropped the app ICEBlock from the App Store on Thursday after Justice Department officials linked it to violence against federal agents.
Attorney General Pam Bondi asked the tech giant to remove the app that allows anonymous users to report the locations of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
“We reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store — and Apple did so,” Bondi said in a statement to Fox Business.
“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 explained.
“This Department of Justice will continue making every effort to protect our brave federal law enforcement officers, who risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe.”
Federal officials have said that Joshua Jahn, who shot into the ICE field office in Dallas, searched for tracking apps — including ICEBlock — before an attack that left one detainee dead.
Joshua Aaron, who created ICEBlock, said, he was “incredibly disappointed by Apple’s actions today.”
“Capitulating to an authoritarian regime is never the right move,” Aaron said. “Apple has claimed they received information from law enforcement that ICEBlock served to harm law enforcement officers. This is patently false.”
Apple saw things differently.
“We created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps,” Apple said, according to NBC.
“Based on information we’ve received from law enforcement about the safety risks associated with ICEBlock, we have removed it and similar apps from the App Store.”
ICEBlock does not share personal information on agents, but it tells anyone using the app if an agent has been seen within five miles of the user
CNN reported that in a message to Aaron, Apple told him that “upon re-evaluation,” the app failed meet rules that apps not be “objectionable” and have “defamatory, discriminatory, or mean-spirited content.”
“Information provided to Apple by law enforcement shows that your app violates” rules because “it’s purpose is to provide location information about law enforcement officers that can be used to harm such officers individually or as a group,” the message said.
CNN noted that apps similar to ICEBlock were also removed.
Marcos Charles, the acting head of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, last month called ICEBlock and similar apps “a casting call to invite bad actors to attack law enforcement officers,” according to The Hill.
“Anyone who creates or distributes these apps that [are] designed to spot, track and locate ICE officers are well aware of the dangers that they’re exposing to law enforcement.”
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