ICEBlock Owner After Apple Removes App: ‘We Are Determined to Fight This’

The developer of ICEBlock, an app that lets users crowdsource sightings of ICE officials, says he will fight back after Apple removed it from the App Store on Thursday. According to Fox, which first reported the removal, the decision followed pressure from Department of Justice officials acting at the direction of Attorney General Pam Bondi. Apple told 404 Media that it has removed other similar apps as well. Developer Joshua Aaron told 404 Media that Apple's action was a capitulation to an authoritarian regime, and he argued that ICEBlock is no different from crowdsourced speed traps used by mapping applications, including Apple's own Maps app, and is protected speech under the First Amendment.