Apple’s decision to comply with the Department of Justice’s request to remove apps that monitor the locations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, like ICEBlock, triggered mixed reactions on social media.
Conservatives praised the decision as a necessary step to protecting law enforcement officers as mass deportation efforts continue under the Trump administration.
“Following last week’s tragic shooting at the Dallas ICE facility, authorities said the suspect used tracking apps, including ICEBlock, before opening fire,” Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, posted to X.
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“Thank you, [Attorney General Pam Bondi] for applying necessary pressure to protect our law enforcement and have the app removed,” Williams continued.
“Good, but this took WAY too long,” Conservative journalist Nick Sortor wrote on X. “The Trump DOJ intervened, pushing Apple to make the move.”
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin slammed a headline from the New York Times that said “Apple Takes Down ICE Tracking Apps Amid Trump Pressure Campaign.”
“Our men and women of ICE are being doxxed, stalked, their families’ personal information is being put on the dark web, they are facing a 1000%increase in assaults, a terrorist just tried to kill them a week ago. But that’s not newsworthy to the New York Times, McLaughlin told Fox News Digital in a statement, in addition to posting “What a joke” to X with a screenshot on the headline.
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“When Apple made the correct call to take down these apps that are going to get someone killed, the NYT spins it as caving to political pressure— A disgrace to journalism,” she continued.
Meanwhile, some criticized Apple’s decision to take down the app.
“Wait. Now it’s okay that the government demands that a tech company delete something? If memory serves, just a short time ago this very action was described in the most heated terms (and not entirely without reason) as a totalitarian violation of the right to free speech,” NPR “Morning Edition” host Steve Inskeep posted to X.
“Oh [Apple] you REALLY SUCK for taking down ICEblock! Wth is wrong with you? PUT IT BACK!! This is families getting split up just bc some unidentified loser thugs decide it – NOT OK,” another user wrote.
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ICEBlock came out in April, as anti-ICE protests raged throughout major cities like Los Angeles and Portland throughout the summer.
“We reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store — and Apple did so,” Bondi told Fox News Digital in a statement.
“ICEBlock is designed to put ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs, and violence against law enforcement is an intolerable red line that cannot be crossed,” the Attorney General continued. “This Department of Justice will continue making every effort to protect our brave federal law enforcement officers, who risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe.”
Apple said in a statement that they “created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps.”
“Based on information we’ve received from law enforcement about the safety risks associated with ICEBlock, we have removed it and similar apps from the App Store,” the company added.
ICEBlock creator Joshua Aaron said he was “incredibly disappointed by Apple’s actions today.”
Fox News Digital’s Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.
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