Apple removed the app ICEBlock from its App Store, which allows users to alert others to the presence of ICE agents, after the Department of Justice claimed it is endangering the lives of law enforcement agents. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Apple has removed an app from its App Store that alerts users if Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are near their location after complaints from the Department of Justice that it puts agents' safety at risk.
Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier Thursday ordered the Justice Department to have Apple remove ICEBlock after agents had been doxxed and threatened, specifically in the wake of a shooting last week at an ICE detention site in Dallas.
"We reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store -- and Apple did so," Bondi said in a statement to Fox News. "ICEBlock is designed to put agents at risk for doing their jobs, and violence against law enforcement is an intolerable red line that cannot be crossed."
ICEBlock is a free, iPhone-only anonymous app modeled after the traffic app Waze that allows users to report sightings of ICE agents and operations without revealing personal data that could be traced back to individuals on the app, according to the app's website. If ICE agents are within a 5-mile radius of a user, the app alerts the user to their presence.
