ICEBlock, a smartphone application that lets users track Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, was removed from Apple’s App Store on Friday after the Justice Department urged the company to take it down.
The move followed a push from Attorney General Pam Bondi, who contacted Apple a day earlier to demand the removal of the controversial app.
“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,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement, per Fox Business.
Bondi applauded Apple’s decision and argued the app put federal officers in danger.
“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,” she said, according to CNN.
This removal of the application also comes shortly after a September 24 attack on ICE officers in Dallas, in which FBI Director Kash Patel stated that the alleged shooter utilized the ICE tracking application during his preparations, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
ICEBlock, developed by Joshua Aaron, allowed users to anonymously report sightings of immigration officers, drawing mixed reactions from those who are both opposed and in support of immigration officers.
Aaron denied the government’s allegations and condemned Apple’s compliance, writing that “Capitulating to an authoritarian regime is never the right move.”
Aaron added that his team is prepared to challenge the takedown of the app, writing that they are “determined to fight this with everything” possible, per CNN.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, IceBlock has been used nationwide to identify immigration officers, including instances in Dallas where officers have been identified on the application.