Apple was pressured by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to remove an app called ICEBlock which allows users to anonymously report the location of ICE Agents. Trump administration officials, fearful that the app could put the lives of ICE agents and other law enforcement officers at risk, asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to approach Apple to have the tech giant remove ICEBlock from the App Store. Apple gave in to the request and removed the app.
Tim Cook has tried to stay on Trump's good side
Besides putting ICE agents at risk, the administration was concerned that the app could protect illegal immigrants. Bondi told Fox News Digital, "We reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store — and Apple did so. 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. This Department of Justice will continue making every effort to protect our brave federal law enforcement officers, who risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe."
A one-of-a-kind gift presented to President Trump from Apple CEO Tim Cook in the Oval Office earlier this year. | Image credit-Reuters
Apple's response shouldn't be surprising as CEO Tim Cook has gone out of his way to appease the president possibly to avoid having the iPhone impacted by tariffs. Right now, smartphones and some other consumer electronics are exempted from having import taxes imposed on them. As the U.S. company importing assembled iPhone units from China and India, Apple would have been responsible to pay the tariff or pass it on to U.S. consumers in the form of a price hike.
Did you ever use the ICEBlock app?
Yes, I used it out of curiosity.
20%
No, I have no reason to do so.
80%
Tensions have been running higher than normal since last week's shooting at an ICE facility in Texas that ended the lives of multiple detainees. Despite the fact that detainees were killed, the gunman, 29-year-old Joshua Jahn, intended to kill ICE agents. Jahn reportedly used the ICEBlock app and other similar ones to keep track of the movements of ICE personnel before his attack.
"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."
-Apple
As a result, Cook has been going out of his way to stay on Trump's good side, knowing that pumping him up with praise and presenting him with gifts is often the way to get the president to do what you want him to do. In August, Cook presented Trump with a circular glass cutout made by Corning on a 24-karat gold base. The gift, given to the president at the Oval Office during an event to announce Apple's plan to build more products in the U.S., is estimated to have a value as high as $100,000.
Apple's actions removing the app carry "worrisome implications"
There are some who are concerned that Apple is responding to government pressure which Alejandra Caraballo, a clinical instructor at Harvard Law School's Cyberlaw Clinic, says has "worrisome implications." Caraballo goes own to say, "There could be extreme levels of jawboning of Apple to remove apps that the Trump administration doesn't want available. They could threaten to implement massive tariffs against Apple if they don't remove certain apps from the App Store, or pressure them in other ways."
ICEBlock was not available for Android devices as it was not listed in the Google Play Store. The app was available only through the App Store before Apple took it down.
ICEBlock was one of the top apps for the App Store back in Juky
Because Apple removed the app voluntarily, the creator of ICEBlock wouldn't be able to sue the government for violating his First Amendment rights. That person, Joshua Aaron, launched ICEBlock in April. He told CNN that he wanted to do something to "fight back" against President Trump's ICE raids, and by July the app was on the top pf the App Store charts.
The app allows users to place a pin on a map to show others where they spotted ICE agents. A notification then is disseminated to others within a five-mile radius possibly allowing illegal immigrants to escape being caught and detained by ICE agents.
Aaron's wife, Carolyn Feinstein, ended up losing her job in retribution for her husband's actions in developing the app. Ironically, Feinstein worked at the Justce Department.
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