ICEBlock developer sues Trump administration over app’s removal

The creator behind ICEBlock, an app that tracked immigration enforcement officials’ activities, is suing the Trump administration two months after his app was removed from the Apple app store following criticism from officials.

The creator behind ICEBlock, an app that tracked immigration enforcement officials’ activities, is suing the Trump administration two months after his app was removed from the Apple app store following criticism from officials.

After ICEBlock soared in popularity earlier this year, the Trump administration accused the app, which allowed users to share real-time sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in their area, of putting agents at risk. In October, Apple announced that it had removed ICEBlock and other apps like it from its app store, citing information they had “received from law enforcement about the safety risks associated with ICEBlock.”

On Monday, Joshua Aaron, ICEBlock’s Texas-based developer, filed a lawsuit against several Trump administration officials alleging they successfully pressured Apple to remove the app.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, accuses Attorney General Pam Bondi, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, ICE’s acting Director Todd Lyons and White House border czar Tom Homan of making “unconstitutional threats and demands against Apple” in violation of the First Amendment.

“For what appears to be the first time in Apple’s nearly fifty-year history, Apple removed a U.S.-based app in response to the U.S. government’s demands,” the complaint states.