By Brad Brooks
Dec 8 (Reuters) – The developer of one of the most popular apps used to share information about the sightings of federal immigration agents sued the Trump administration on Monday, alleging free speech violations after Apple removed ICEBlock from its online store.
Joshua Aaron, the developer of the ICEBlock app, which had more than a million users before Apple removed it in October after pressure from the Trump administration, filed a lawsuit in federal court, a rare instance of a tech company removing an app based on a complaint from the US federal government.
Aaron has named other administration officials as defendants, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Director Todd Lyons.
ICE agents have routinely raided businesses and other places to arrest immigrants, even detaining them after immigration court hearings as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Those who oppose Trump’s immigration agenda or say they want to keep immigrants and others safe have used apps and other means to track and document ICE activities and warn people who are at risk of being detained.
Aaron said he thinks the Trump administration is not only attacking his free speech rights, but those of all citizens when it pursues apps like ICEBlock, and he hopes his lawsuit will help stop the administration from “doing away with the Constitution.”
“When we see our government doing something wrong, it’s our duty as citizens of this nation to hold them accountable, and that’s what we’re doing in this case,” Aaron said.
The Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Aaron’s case. Apple, which has not been named as a defendant, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Apple cited law enforcement information
When it removed the app from its store, Apple said it acted based on information it received from law enforcement about security risks. The Justice Department confirmed that it had contacted Apple to pull the app, and Bundy said in a statement at the time that ICEBlock was designed to put ICE agents at risk, something the developer strongly opposes.
The app, which is still working for people who downloaded it before it was removed from app stores, allows users to report their publicly observable activity to federal immigration agents and their locations. Aaron argues in his lawsuit that this action is similar to mapping apps like Waze and others when they allow users to report police locations.
The lawsuit states that Aaron submitted the app to Apple for approval and it was available through the company’s App Store since April of this year before it was taken down.
Legal experts told Reuters that surveillance by immigration agents is largely protected under the U.S. Constitution — as long as people do not interfere with the agents’ work or encourage others to do so. Courts have long held that it is legal to record law enforcement activities in public areas.
The lawsuit cites a message Apple sent to Aaron showing “information provided to Apple by law enforcement” that his app violated the company’s guidelines “because it is intended to provide location information to law enforcement officials that could be used to harm such officials individually or collectively.”
Aaron told Reuters earlier this year that his app in no way encouraged violence against federal agents and denied allegations that it allowed users to dox those federal agents, saying his app does not allow users to upload any photos or videos.
Instead, the app served as an “early warning system” based on what was happening in public places, Aaron said, adding, “You can’t limit what everyone can see with their own eyes.”
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Colorado; Editing by Donna Bryson and Bill Burkrot)
