Apple removes ICEBlock from the App Store

Apple has taken down the “Waze for spotting ICE” app ICEBlock from its App Store, as previously reported by Business Insider. A message from its developer conveyed Apple’s App Review notice regarding the ban, stating, “We just received a notification from Apple’s App Review that #ICEBlock has been taken off the App Store due to ‘objectionable content.’ The only explanation we can think of is that this is due to pressure from the Trump Administration. We have replied and we’ll contest this!”

The ICEBlock app surged to the top of the App Store charts this summer after being targeted by officials in the Trump administration, including US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem calling it an “obstruction of justice,” and Attorney General Pam Bondi stating it was “not a protected speech.”

Today, Bondi took credit for the app’s removal, telling Fox News Digital, “We contacted Apple today insisting they eliminate the ICEBlock app from their App Store — and Apple complied. ICEBlock is aimed at jeopardizing ICE agents merely for executing their responsibilities, and any violence against law enforcement is an unacceptable boundary that must not be surpassed.” ICEBlock developer Joshua Aaron is quoted in the same report asserting that it has over 1.1 million users and claimed, “Apple has stated they received information from law enforcement that ICEBlock was harmful to law enforcement personnel. This is utterly false.”

Apple made similar assertions in 2019 when it removed HKMap, an app allowing Hong Kong protesters to track law enforcement activities, with CEO Tim Cook informing employees that “over the last several days we have received credible information, from the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau, as well as from users in Hong Kong, that the app was being misused to target individual officers for violence and to harm people and property in locations where no police were present.”

During that period, lawmakers from both political parties sexpressed their discontent with “Apple’s suppression of apps.” A letter signed by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), and Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) stated, “Situations like these raise genuine concerns about whether Apple and other large corporate entities in the US will yield to increasing Chinese demands rather than sacrifice access to one billion Chinese consumers.”

At this point, the Trump administration is limiting expression as part of a crackdown against a vaguely defined threat of “antifa.”

As Elizabeth Lopatto and Sarah Jeong noted earlier today:

Antifa, as stated in the national security presidential memorandum (NSPM), represents both everything and nothing. It exists in forums and social media and during physical gatherings. It is present in educational entities and nonprofit organizations. It manifests in protests (“riots”) happening not only in Portland, but also in Los Angeles, whether opposing Trump’s immigration policies or separately, “anti-police and ‘criminal justice’ riots.” It includes doxxing of masked and armed ICE agents. It is the “rhetoric” inscribed on the bullets allegedly engraved by Charlie Kirk’s murderer — referring, it seems, to an unused bullet casing that bears a video game button combination.

Therefore, antifa could be a youngster in a black mask hurling a brick at a CCTV camera outside an ICE facility. Antifa might be the elderly woman on the sidewalk carrying a sign declaring “DONALD TRUMP IS A FASCIST.” Antifa represents ACAB. Antifa is against ICE. Antifa embodies the idea of No Kings. Antifa might also comprise a study group, a teach-in, or an Instagram call for mutual support. It could even be the ICEBlock app, which the App Store might be aiding by providing material support for perceived terrorism.

The ICEBlock app was created to allow individuals to anonymously report sightings of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials and view reported events within a 5-mile area. It claims to provide a “completely anonymous and secure” platform without the developer retaining any data, which has been verified in part by a researcher who confirmed it does not directly share your data.

Nonetheless, some have criticized its claims, including the developers behind Android-oriented GrapheneOS, who suggested that the developer might be “misguided regarding the privacy provided by iOS.” Security engineer and journalist Micah Lee described the app as “activism theater,” noting that many of Aaron’s assertions in a discourse about the app and its security were inaccurate and pointed out that a server he managed was operating outdated software with known vulnerabilities.

Apple has not yet replied to inquiries from The Verge seeking an official response regarding the ICEBlock removal.