"Apple pulled ICEBlock in early October after Justice Department officials contacted the company claiming that the app enables users to evade immigration raids and endangers ICE agents. The app, which has more than a million downloads, gives users notifications when ICE agents are nearby, and allows users to anonymously report the location of ICE agent activity, but only if they are located in the same area."
""The goal is pretty simple-we're hoping to set a precedent that says not only is ICEBlock protected by the First Amendment but they cannot come after me and threaten me as they've been doing over the past year," Aaron tells Fast Company."
"The ICEBlock app removal may be a case of an unconstitutional government tactic known as "jawboning," in which a government official uses their official capacity to pressure a private sector entity to do something. In another recent example of the practice, FCC chairman Brendan Carr used an implicit threat of regulatory entanglement to pressure ABC and its affiliates to drop Jimmy Kimmel's "Kimmel""
Apple removed ICEBlock in early October after Justice Department officials told Apple that the app enables users to evade immigration raids and endangers ICE agents. Developer Joshua Aaron filed suit in U.S. District Court in D.C. alleging that Attorney General Pam Bondi and other officials unconstitutionally pressured Apple without a court order, seeking reinstatement and damages. ICEBlock notifies users when ICE agents are nearby and allows anonymous, co-located reporting; it has over a million downloads. The developer contends the app shares public information similar to traffic or weather apps. The case could reshape how tech platforms respond to government requests absent warrants.
Read at Fast Company
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