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Apple has removed the ICEBlock app from its App Store, citing the "safety risks" of people reporting the whereabouts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
In July, the app drew criticism from Attorney General Pam Bondi, who told the app's developer to "watch out." Now, Apple says it has removed ICEBlock "and similar apps...based on information we've received from law enforcement about the safety risks associated with ICEBlock."
"We created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps," Apple adds, according to Business Insider. It didn't specify the other apps it removed.
Bondi told Fox News that the Justice Department requested the removal. "We reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store — and Apple did so," she said. "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. 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."
ICEBlock developer Joshua Aaron told 404 Media that “ICEBlock is no different from crowdsourcing speed traps, which every notable mapping application, including Apple's own Maps app, implements as part of its core services. This is protected speech under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
“We are determined to fight this with everything we have. Our mission has always been to protect our neighbors from the terror this administration continues to rain down on the people of this nation," he adds.
There’s no Android version of the ICEBlock app because "achieving this level of anonymity on Android is not feasible due to the inherent requirements of push notification services," Aaron said previously.
ICEBlock is free to use, and it keeps users anonymous whether they're viewing locations or submitting their own sightings. It allows users to input the address of a sighting and notifies them if there is a report of agents within a 5-mile radius. In June, ICEBlock had about 20,000 users.