Overview

• Apple removed ICEBlock and similar iOS apps on Thursday following a request relayed by the Department of Justice, according to statements by Attorney General Pam Bondi and the company.
• The company told developer Joshua Aaron the apps failed a re‑evaluation of App Store rules on objectionable and malicious content, citing the potential to facilitate harm to law-enforcement personnel.
• Existing users can continue using ICEBlock, but the apps are no longer available for new downloads.
• Officials linked the use of such tools to a recent shooting at an ICE facility in Dallas, and the FBI said the suspect had sought apps that tracked the presence of agents.
• Aaron denies any intent to incite violence, calls the removal censorship and a First Amendment issue, notes more than one million users, and compares ICEBlock’s alerts to crowdsourced features in apps like Waze.