Photo: Alamy
Apple has removed several Immigration and Customs Enforcement tracking apps from its App Store following concerns that they posed safety risks to federal agents, the company confirmed on Thursday.
The move came after the Justice Department asked Apple to take down ICEBlock, a crowdsourced app used to report ICE activity, citing escalating threats against immigration officers. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the app had been flagged after investigators found the suspect in last month’s Dallas ICE facility shooting had allegedly researched it before carrying out the attack that killed two detainees.
“We reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store — and Apple did so,” Bondi told 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. 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.”
Apple said it acted on the recommendation after reviewing the security concerns raised by law enforcement.
“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,” the company said in a statement. “Our store is designed to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps.”
The developer of ICEBlock, Joshua Aaron, criticized the removal and denied that the app was intended to endanger officers.
“We are determined to fight this with everything we have,” Aaron said. “Our mission has always been to protect our neighbors from the terror this administration continues to reign down on the people of this nation.”
The Justice Department stated that additional steps may be taken against platforms that promote or distribute tools that put law enforcement at risk.