By Brad Brooks
Dec 8 (Reuters) – The developer of the most popular app used to share information about sightings of federal immigration agents sued the Trump administration on Monday, alleging free speech violations after Apple removed ICEBlock from its online store.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court by Joshua Aaron, the developer of the ICEBlock app that had over 1 million users before it was removed by Apple in October following pressure from the Trump administration, a rare instance of a tech company removing an app based on a complaint from the U.S. federal government.
Aaron named Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Director Todd Lyons among other administration officials as defendants.
ICE agents have regularly raided businesses and other places to arrest migrants, even detaining them following immigration court hearings as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
People who oppose Trump’s immigration agenda or who 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 might be at risk of being detained.
Aaron said he thinks the Trump administration is not just attacking his free speech rights, but those of all citizens when it goes after apps like ICEBlock, and that he hoped his lawsuit helps stop the administration “from eroding 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 is exactly what we’re doing with this lawsuit,” Aaron said.
The Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Aaron’s suit. Apple, which is not 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 took action based on information from law enforcement about safety risks. The Justice Department confirmed that it had contacted Apple to pull the app, and Bondi said in a statement at the time that ICEBlock was designed to put ICE agents at risk, which the developer strongly disputes.
The app, which is still functioning for people who downloaded it before its removal from app stores, allows users to report publicly observable activity of federal immigration agents and their locations. Aaron, in his lawsuit, argues that the function is similar to what mapping apps like Waze and others do when they allow users to report the locations of police.
The lawsuit says Aaron submitted the app to Apple for approval and that it had been available through the company’s app store since April of this year before being removed.
Legal experts have told Reuters that surveillance of immigration agents is largely protected under the U.S. Constitution – as long people don’t interfere with the agents’ work or encourage others to do so. Courts have long held that recording law enforcement activities in public areas is legal.
The suit cites a message Apple sent to Aaron that said “information provided to Apple by law enforcement” showed that his app violated the company’s guidelines “because its purpose is to provide location information about law enforcement officers that can be used to harm such officers individually or as a group.”
Aaron told Reuters earlier this year that his app in no way encouraged violence against federal agents and rejected accusations that it allowed users to dox those federal agents by noting his app does not allow users to upload any photos or videos.
Instead, the app serves as an “early warning system” that was based on what was happening in public spaces, Aaron said, adding, “you can’t limit what everybody can see with their own eyes.”
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Colorado; editing by Donna Bryson and Bill Berkrot)
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