Overview
- Joshua Aaron filed the case in federal court in Washington, D.C., naming Attorney General Pam Bondi, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons and White House border czar Tom Homan as defendants, with the case assigned to Judge Dabney L. Friedrich.
- Apple removed ICEBlock from the App Store in October after DOJ outreach, citing law‑enforcement information about safety risks to officers; Apple is not a defendant and declined comment in recent coverage.
- The complaint seeks injunctions to prohibit officials from pressuring app stores and asks for protection against any investigation or prosecution related to the app’s development and distribution.
- ICEBlock allowed users to share publicly observable ICE activity, barred media uploads, auto‑deleted reports after four hours and surpassed one million users before removal; it still functions for prior downloaders but cannot be newly installed or updated.
- Trump administration officials argue the app endangers officers, while legal experts say reporting on law enforcement in public is generally protected speech; related transparency efforts include an EFF records lawsuit and congressional inquiries into government contacts with tech platforms.