Apple bows to Trump pressure to remove ICEBlock app : NPR

Apple and Google on Thursday removed apps that alert people that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are nearby after pressure from Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Critics of the tech giants' capitulation to the Trump administration say it shows President Trump's influence over Silicon Valley during his second term.

Apple said it had removed an app called ICEBlock from its app store after the company became aware of the app's “security risks.” The anonymous crowdsourcing app describes itself as “Waze, but for ICE surveillance” and claims to serve as an early warning system to inform people of the presence of ICE agents nearby.

The app launched in April and racked up hundreds of thousands of downloads, but it was only after Attorney General Pam Bondi warned Apple, demanding it be removed from the App Store, that the company made it unavailable.

“Today we asked Apple to remove the ICEBlock app from its App Store – and Apple has done so,” Bondi said. in a statement to Fox News.

The Justice Department did not respond to NPR's questions about its request.

Since the app never had an Android version, it was not available on the Google Play Store. However, a company spokesperson told NPR that it too has “removed similar apps for violating our policies,” consistent with Apple's actions.

ICEBlock developer Joshua Aaron said he created the app in response to increased immigration enforcement by the Trump administration. After the app was downloaded from Apple's app store, Aaron blamed it on political pressure and vowed to fight it.

He argued that the app service deals with a kind of protected speech, not unlike some of Apple's own apps, such as the company's mapping app, which allows users to crowdsource accidents, hazards and police traffic traps.

“Capitling to an authoritarian regime is never the right move,” Aaron said in a statement.

Apple's actions have reignited the debate over what is known as jawwhen government officials censor speech through intimidation and threats.

Conservatives over the years blamed the Biden administration these tactics in connection with communications with technology companies associated with accounts that spread COVID and election misinformation.

Jimmy Kimmel's brief suspension from ABC following comments from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr widely respected by legal experts as illegal chatter.

Kate Ruane, director of the Free Expression Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology, said Apple's actions should also be seen as the government's heavy hand in suppressing free speech.

“When companies agree to comply with the administration's demands to achieve some other goal, whether it's avoiding tariffs or getting approval for a merger, they send a signal to others that it's okay to do the same,” Ruane said. “What’s worse, they simultaneously undermine the promise of the First Amendment for all of us.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook has taken steps to curry favor with Trump as the administration introduces aggressive tariff policies that could hurt Apple's profits as much of its production occurs in China, India and other countries overseas.

Cook entered the White House in August and gave to Trump 24-karat gold is a move that has become a symbol of Silicon Valley's respect for the president.

Trump also gave Apple and other technology companies a gift of sorts, tax exempt smartphones, including Apple's iPhone, from tariffs.

“I think a lot of large organizations are careful not to express metaphorical views and to tread carefully even when the government is acting inappropriately or even unconstitutionally,” said Gautam Hans, a law professor at Cornell University who believes Apple will have a serious lawsuit but doesn't expect the company to investigate it. “Compliance will only encourage further government demands.”