Apple Removesโค ICE Tracking App ICEBlock Following calls for Action
Apple has removed theโข ICEBlockโข app from itsโค App โStore โขafter pressure from officials connectedโ to the Trump governance, according โฃtoโ a statement from Bondi, aโ representativeโ of the Department of Justice, โคon Thursday. Bondiโฃ stated, “We reached out to Apple today demanding they remove โthe ICEBlock app from their โคApp Store – and โApple did so.” She further emphasized, “ICEBlockโข is designedโฃ to put ICE agents โat risk justโค for doing their jobs, and violence against law enforcement isโ an โขintolerable red line that cannot be crossed.” Bondi affirmed the Department of justices โcommitment to protecting โคfederal law enforcement officers.
The ICEBlockโฃ app,launched in Aprilโ and available for free,allowedโค users to track the โlocations of Immigration and Customs Enforcementโข (ICE) agents. Its removal follows heightened concerns about the safety of law enforcement personnel.
Tom Homan, former border czar under the Trump administration, indicated that those responsible for creating and distributingโ the โapp may face โขinvestigation, stating in a Fox โฃNews interview, “They’re gonna investigate theseโข people who put these โคapps up – because it puts โฃlaw enforcement atโ great risk.”
The controversy surrounding ICEBlock escalated after White House Press โSecretary Karoline Leavitt noted on X (formerly Twitter) last week thatโ the individualโ who opened โfire at an ICE โfacility โขin Dallas on September 24 had been utilizing the app.
ICEBlock โคbriefly rose to become the top social โฃnetworking app in the App Store after Leavitt publicly condemned it during a Whiteโ Houseโ press โฃbriefingโ on June 30. CNN reported on the โapp the โsameโข day, quoting its creator, joshua Aaron, who stated he developed ICEBlock in response to โescalating deportation efforts under the Trump administration. โaaron reportedlyโค said, “When I saw what wasโข happeningโ in this country, I โคwantedโฃ to do somethingโข to fight back,” and drew parallels โขbetween current immigration enforcement and โNazi Germany, stating, โ”We’re literally watching history โขrepeat itself.”
ICE’s acting director, Todd Lyons, releasedโฃ a โstatementโ on June 30, calling the app “sickening” โขand โคstating, “Advertising an app that basically paints a target on federal law enforcement officers’ backs isโฆlike โinvitingโฃ violence โagainst them โขwith a national โmegaphone,”โ notingโฃ a 500% increase in assaults on ICE officers.
Aaron, in a โsubsequent interview with NBC days later, dismissed the criticism asโข “another โright-wing โfearmongering scareโข tactic,” asserting the app was designed to assist individuals fearful of deportation. He cited his Jewish upbringing โand encounters with โขHolocaust survivorsโ as informing his perspective, stating, “theโ parallels that we can draw between โขwhat’s happening โright now in our โคcountry and Hitler’s rise to power are undeniable.”
CNBC has reached out to Joshua Aaronโฃ for comment.
