"ICEBlock provided notifications of locations at which ICE operations were being carried out. It was created in response to what was considered overly aggressive action by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, which saw multiple examples of legal residents and even US citizens being detained. Tourists and business travellers have also been arrested and detained at airports for social media posts critical of the administration, leading many to choose to shelve plans to visit the US."
"The Streisand Effect saw it became the most popular social networking app in the App Store back in the summer. It had just 20,000 users until the White House condemned it, at which point it rocketed up the charts, ending up taking the number three slot in the entire store. In something like a scene from a mob movie, DHS security secretary Kristi Noem threatened CNN with prosecution just for reporting the existence of the app, and US attorney general Pam Bondi told developer Joshua Aaron that "he better watch out.""
"Bondi last week demanded that Apple remove the app from the App Store, claiming that it put ICE agents at risk, and the company complied. "We created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps. 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." Joshua Aaron said the safety claim was false."
Wiley Hodges, a former Apple marketing director with over twenty years at the company, publicly challenged Tim Cook over Apple's decision to remove ICEBlock from the App Store. ICEBlock alerted users to locations of ICE operations and emerged after aggressive Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions resulted in detentions of legal residents, US citizens, tourists and business travelers. The app surged in popularity following public condemnation. DHS secretary Kristi Noem and US attorney general Pam Bondi publicly pressured media and the developer. Bondi demanded removal, Apple cited law enforcement safety concerns and removed the app, and the developer disputed that justification.
Read at 9to5Mac
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]