<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;' id="isPasted">Apple has taken down an app that uses crowdsourcing to flag sightings of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/portland-chicago-memphis-federal-crackdowns-trump-7a45dcf0e7e2bd7debb38603e5b4f660" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 84, 189); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; outline: none;">U.S. immigration agents</a> after coming under pressure from the Trump administration.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>ICEBlock, a free iPhone-only app that lets users anonymously report and monitor activity by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, was no longer available on Apple&#39;s App Store as of Friday. The developer had confirmed its removal on Thursday evening.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>&ldquo;We just received a message from Apple&rsquo;s App Review that&nbsp;<a href="https://bsky.app/hashtag/ICEBlock" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 84, 189); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; outline: none;">#ICEBlock</a> has been removed from the App Store due to &ldquo;objectionable content&#39;,&rdquo; ICEBlock said in a social media post. &ldquo;The only thing we can imagine is this is due to pressure from the Trump Admin. We have responded and we&rsquo;ll fight this!&quot;<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>The developer said last month that it had more than 1 million users. Even though it has been removed from the app marketplace, those who have already downloaded the app should still be able to use it.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>The Associated Press reached out to ICEBlock for further comments on Friday.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>Apple said it removed apps like ICEBlock due to the potential for risks that were raised by law enforcement.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>&ldquo;We created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps,&quot; the company said in a statement. &ldquo;Based on information we&rsquo;ve received from law enforcement about the safety risks associated with ICEBlock, we have removed it and similar apps from the App Store.&rdquo;<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi confirmed that her office had reached out to Apple on Thursday &ldquo;demanding that they remove ICEBlock from their App Store.&quot; In a statement sent to The Associated Press, she claimed that ICEBlock was &ldquo;designed to put ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs.&rdquo;<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>Officials said last month that a gunman who opened fire on an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/dallas-ice-shooting-update-immigration-0631d82e4fd0b1f6e3309e6e8aa83d1e" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 84, 189); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer; font-size: inherit; outline: none;">ICE facility</a> in Dallas had searched for apps that tracked the presence of ICE agents.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>Bondi has previously said that crowdsourced apps that allow people to communicate about the location of law enforcement officers is not allowed &mdash; specifically referring to ICEBlock developer Joshua Aaron in a July interview on Fox News.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>&ldquo;We are looking at him and he better watch out because that&rsquo;s not a protected speech,&rdquo; Bondi said at the time.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>But advocates say that tracking ICE activity is a form of free speech protected by the First amendment. They maintain that such platforms are primarily used among individuals looking to protect themselves from surprise raids or potential harassment from immigration officials.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>Downloads of apps like ICEblock have surged as the Trump administration steps up immigration enforcement.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>ICEBlock and other crowdsourcing apps like it are being targeted, but crowdsourced technology has become common in the app store, and is still available through other apps.<p style='box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; font-size: 16px; line-height: calc(-6px + 1.75rem); padding: 0.2rem 0px 0.8rem; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;'>Navigation apps like Waze or Google Maps for Android phones have been in use for years. Part of their draw is that users are alerted to police speed traps by other drivers. Users of those apps have suggested they can be used to post updates about &ldquo;icy conditions.&rdquo;

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Artificial Intelligence

Apple has taken down an app that uses crowdsourcing to flag sightings of U.S. immigration agents after coming under pressure from the Trump administration

Articles tagged with "agent sightings"

Apple removes apps enabling anonymous reporting of ICE agent sightings