Discussion

• @erratarob Robert Graham on x

  Apple complied with government censorship request because it knows that Trump will punish them with abuse of his regulatory powers unless Apple complies.

• @kerim.one Kerim Friedman on bluesky

  I'm often annoyed by John Gruber, but he is good on this one, if perhaps a bit overly optimistic at the end:  —  “Apple's removal of ICEBlock from the App Store is, in multiple ways, worse than Apple's removal of HKmap-dot-live from the App Store back in 2019.”

• @paulguinnessy Paul Guinnessy on bluesky

  “We've been here before, so many times, since the beginning of this current administration.  And I expect we'll be returning to it for at least as long as the current admin is in power, maybe more.  So let me repeat the maxim we should all be living by: do not expect a moral stan…

• @dmoren.com Dan Moren on bluesky

  There's nothing surprising about Apple removing ICEBlock from the App Store.  Much as we might want companies to take moral stands, they're simply not designed to—that's the system we've built for ourselves. sixcolors.com/post/2025/10...

• @esqueer.net Alejandra Caraballo on bluesky

  How long will bluesky stay up when Trump demands that Apple and Google remove it from the app store?  Elon has already demanded that they do so.  They'll ensure you can only access the apps that they want you to.

• @robpegoraro.com Rob Pegoraro on bluesky

  The Trump administration is treating Apple's complete control over large-scale iOS app distribution as a single point of failure it can exploit to punish apps it doesn't like.  Who were they more inspired by in adopting this pressure tactic, Xi Jinping or Vladimir Putin?

• @film_girl@mastodon.social Christina Warren on mastodon

  Kinda wild Apple will kick ICEBlock out of the App Store on safety grounds but the Saudi government app that lets men track women (their “property") and control their travel is fully allowed even after the Human Rights Watch AND members of the Senate begged them to ban it.

• @viticci@mastodon.macstories.net @viticci@mastodon.macstories.net on mastodon

  Gross.  And actually harmful.  —  https://mastodon.macstories.net/ ...

• @marcoarment@mastodon.social Marco Arment on mastodon

  Are any of you still thinking Tim Cook is just doing what he “needs” to do, throwing his own reputation under the bus as a selfless act to protect a larger social well-being, rather than literally just *supporting* the Trump regime because the political favors he negotiates help …

• @rapidresponse47 @rapidresponse47 on x

  .@RealTomHoman: “I think they took it down because of what @AGPamBondi said. They're gonna investigate these people who put these apps up — because it puts law enforcement at great risk.” [video]

• @presssec Karoline Leavitt on x

  “Apple dropped ‘ICEBlock,’ a widely used tracking tool, from its App Store Thursday after the Department of Justice raised concerns with the big tech giant that the app put law enforcement officers at risk.” https://www.foxbusiness.com/ ...

• @wadestotts Wade Stotts on x

  Huge.

• @krystalball Krystal Ball on x

  More corporate capitulation to the Trump regime

• @magavoice @magavoice on x

  BREAKING 🚨 Apple has FINALLY taken down the ICEBlock app. This shouldn't have taken so long PROTECT ICE AT ALL COSTS 🙏 [image]

• @nprinskeep Steve Inskeep on x

  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.

• @anc_aesthetics @anc_aesthetics on x

  The administration needs to use the bully pulpit on these companies much more aggressively. It's ridiculous that this took this long. While “Tim Apple” was in the Whitehouse sitting down for dinner this app was active and being used to target ICE agents.

• @wendyrogersaz Wendy Rogers on x

  He had to.

• @lsferguson Steve Ferguson on x

  Now Google has to do the same. This is endangering ICE agents @Google

• @senatorbabet Senator Babet on x

  @nicksortor Whoever approved this app at Apple should be indicted.

• @langmanvince Vince Langman on x

  Now, arrest the owners of the apps! [image]

• @deray @deray on x

  This is nuts.

• @ryanafournier Ryan Fournier on x

  Apple has finally taken down all of the apps associated with tracking the movements of ICE. Absolutely insane it took this long. No such app should exist.

• @desireeamerica4 Desiree on x

  @RapidResponse47 Apple only acted once DOJ leaned on them! Proof they knew exactly what they were enabling. ICE agents had a target on their backs for months while Big Tech looked the other way. They don't get credit for finally doing the bare minimum.

• @esjesjesj @esjesjesj on x

  After zero ice agents were hurt

• @okla_oag @okla_oag on x

  I am glad Apple removed this dangerous app that was used to target ICE agents. We should protect and support law enforcement, not endanger them.

• @restoreorderusa Patrick Casey on x

  Hate to be that guy but ffs it really took until today to put pressure on Apple to remove the app? Come on...

• @ericldaugh Eric Daugherty on x

  🚨 BREAKING: Apple TAKES DOWN the ICE tracking apps following a disturbing rise in violence and a recent shooting against an ICE facility. ICEBlock has been *DELETED* from the App Store, after pressure from AG Bondi. Good riddance. The fact it was even ALLOWED is criminal. “We [im…

• @grummz @grummz on x

  Apple removed ICEBlock after Pam Bondi demanded it be taken down. Finally. It WAS used to harm agents and hamper their lawful activities.

• @pkafka Peter Kafka on x

  Apple confirms it has removed ICEblock from its App Store.  The app lets users notify each other of ICE agent sightings; DHS has complained about it since its introduction this summer.  Apple statement: “We created the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps.  B…

• @pkafka Peter Kafka on x

  If this sounds familiar, perhaps you recall Apple taking down an app used by protestors in Hong Kong after Chinese authorities complained, back in 2019. https://www.npr.org/...

• @libsoftiktok @libsoftiktok on x

  BREAKING: Following pressure from the DOJ, Apple just DROPPED the ICEBlock app which was being used by leftists to dox and obstruct ICE- Fox Protect ICE at all costs!

• @reprwilliams Rep. Roger Williams on x

  Thank you, @AGPamBondi for taking crucial action to remove the ICEBlock app from the App Store following my letter raising concern for this dangerous technology. We must always protect our law enforcement from such heinous targeted attacks. https://www.foxbusiness.com/ ...

• @nicksortor Nick Sortor on x

  🚨 BREAKING: Apple has finally TAKEN DOWN the ICEBlock app, which was used by leftists like the Dallas ICE shooter, to dox the location of ICE agents Good, but this took WAY too long.  The Trump DOJ intervened, pushing Apple to make the move.

• @lauraloomer Laura Loomer on x

  🚨 VICTORY!  🚨 Less than 48 hours after I published my expose about the @USArmy 's leading lab researcher who founded an ICE tracking app and I did a show exposing @Apple and @Google for undermining President Trump's immigration policies and sent evidence to the White House and DO…

• @lorak Lora Kolodny on bluesky

  Aaron compared ICEBlock to Waze and other apps that allow users to publicly say where and when they see officers only to inform, not to obstruct, and to help everyone avoid conflict.  More from the developer - @cnbc.com www.cnbc.com/2025/10/03/a...

• @lorak Lora Kolodny on bluesky

  UPDATE: ICEBlock developer Joshua Aaron asked Apple to reinstate the app after the company removed it from the app store under pressure from AG Bondi... www.cnbc.com/2025/10/03/a...

• @timobrien Tim O'Brien on bluesky

  The developer of ICEBlock, an app that lets people crowdsource sightings of ICE officials, has said he is determined to fight back after Apple removed the app from its App Store. www.404media.co/iceblock-own...

• @shiraovide Shira Ovide on bluesky

  Your periodic reminder that Apple and Google app stores do not pretend to be free speech zones.  —  And judging by my reader email, people like that Apple especially acts as a giant app censor.  —  www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

• @blaqdocdown Chico Escuela on bluesky

  Still shows up in my apps (checked just now) and it's working for the moment, so I guess I got it in time.  They are trying their best to suppress any resistance with each passing day.  [embedded post]

• @samuelwa.de @samuelwa.de on bluesky

  “Apple made similar claims in 2019 when it removed HKMap, an app that allowed Hong Kong protesters to trace the movements of law enforcement ... At the time, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle spoke out against 'Apple's censorship of apps.'”

• @paulbernal Paul Bernal on bluesky

  Are we surprised?  Maybe do it as a website instead....  [embedded post]

• @evangreer Evan Greer on bluesky

  A plethora of apps in Apple's app store are basically just spyware / surveillance apps but for some strange reason this is the one that gets banned

• @cmonmaque @cmonmaque on bluesky

  Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the authoritarians [embedded post]

• @davidfagin David F. on bluesky

  @thedailyshow.com #iceblock In the wake of Apple's recent capitulation, Google just pre-emptively took down all the copycats on Android.  The cowardice on full display by our tech/media giants is yet another dark day for free speech.  And a prophetic sign of things to come.

• @moomoof @moomoof on bluesky

  Remember how hard it was to get apple and Android to remove right wing terrorist apps? [embedded post]

• @muellershewrote.com @muellershewrote.com on bluesky

  So Apple takes a tool away from the people, and the Times fails to give credit to independent media for reporting it.  ✅ www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

• @scottdagostino.ca Scott Dagostino on bluesky

  “Our values are that we do think that people have a right to privacy.  And that our customers are not our  —  products.  ~ Tim Cook, Oct. 1, 2015  —  What a difference a decade makes 🫤

• @golfwriterkiel Kiel Christianson on bluesky

  Fascism!!!

• @charliemeyerson.com Charlie Meyerson on bluesky

  Isn't ICEBlock—giving people the power to report what they see when it (motto: “See something, tap something")—just journalism?  Paging First Amendment lawyers!

• @svenning.io Svenning on bluesky

  In case you needed more proof that web apps are superior to native apps.  —  The hill I will die on: the free Internet ✊

• @anarchoterran @anarchoterran on bluesky

  This is exactly why I do not own an Apple computer nor an iPhone.  Apple exerts too much control over your devices.  —  www.404media.co/iceblock-own...

• @calabamian @calabamian on bluesky

  I really thought Apple would not be a punk ass bitch.

• @duckrabbitpro @duckrabbitpro on bluesky

  This used to be the company that used a *female, muscular athlete* fighting *1984's Big Brother* as a reference to their views! [embedded post]

• @duckrabbitpro @duckrabbitpro on bluesky

  This means Tim Apple can expect to get tried when the Nuremberg 2.0 Trials finally start.

• @rimaanabtawi Rima I Anabtawi on bluesky

  Apple Takes Down ICE Tracking Apps Amid Trump Pressure Campaign  —  Trump administration officials have issued several legal threats over ICEBlock, a popular app that allows users to alert others to the presence of nearby immigration agents.  —  www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

• @maggiemcneill Maggie McNeill on bluesky

  And he thought a gold bar would be the end of it.  [embedded post]

• @mariafarrell Maria Farrell on bluesky

  7 years ago Tim Cook told the European Parliament:  —  “We're responsible for recognizing that the devices we make and platforms we build have real...lasting...even permanent effects on individuals and communities who use them  —  We must never stop asking ourselves What kind of …

• @pattmlatimes Patt Morrison on bluesky

  Another gazillion-dollar company knuckles under to  —  Trump bullying — Apple obediently deletes an ICE-monitoring app. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

• @samuelwa.de @samuelwa.de on bluesky

  “I am incredibly disappointed by Apple's actions today.  Capitulating to an authoritarian regime is never the right move.  ICEBlock is no different from crowd sourcing speed traps, which every notable mapping application, including Apple's own Maps app, implements as part of its …

• @daviduzumeri @daviduzumeri on bluesky

  this was taken down for the wrong reasons but from all reports this was a deeply unserious app by an unserious developer [embedded post]

• @anderslovlie Anders S. Løvlie on bluesky

  We need digital infrastructure that is not controlled by the US government via collaborative corporations.  [embedded post]

• @hern Alex Hern on bluesky

  Six years ago, almost to the day, Apple removing a similar app from the Hong Kong App Store was seen as such a breach that Tim Cook wrote an all staff email to defend it www.theguardian.com/technology/ 2...  [embedded post]

• @chaotichuman @chaotichuman on bluesky

  So Apple didn't remove that ICEBlock app because it is a proprietary security nightmare for its users but because they caved to the Trump regime.  Great streisand esque PR there Apple for an app that doesn't even deserve it.  [embedded post]

• @knowshowitwillend @knowshowitwillend on bluesky

  Why are people not calling for an Apple boycott?  People dumped Disney like they were fighting for their life to save a rich white comedian's job, but real normal lives and families are being destroyed by ICE now supported by Apple.  —  www.404media.co/iceblock-own...

• @madycast.com @madycast.com on bluesky

  I remember when Americans used to use the fact that China would compel companies to delete apps for political reasons as proof of how much freer America is than they are [embedded post]

• @bindiatthebeach @bindiatthebeach on bluesky

  🚨 This just happened!  —  Apple said on Thursday that it had removed ICEBlock, the most popular ICE-tracking app, and other similar apps from its App Store after it was contacted by President Donald Trump's administration.

• @chrisinparis @chrisinparis on bluesky

  Apple doing it's part yet again to help the Trump administration.  But Think Different!  🤡 [embedded post]

• @taniel @taniel on bluesky

  Apple agreed with the Trump admin's demands that they remove apps that helped people track ICE agents from the Apple Store: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

• @pghdlo Patrick on bluesky

  www.cnbc.com/2025/10/03/a...  Bending the knee a bit further are you Tim Apple?

• @manuelsalgado Manuel Salgado on bluesky

  This really sucks but my copy is working and I would bet there will be a web interface soon.  [embedded post]

• @virginiahall32 @virginiahall32 on bluesky

  Agreed.  You don't cave to Nazis.  Bondi desperately needs to have her law license yanked for all the law breaking she does.  —  Bondi confirmed the department reached out to Apple Thursday to demand it remove ICEBlock.  —  www.foxbusiness.com/politics/ app...  [embedded post]

• @digivudu @digivudu on bluesky

  I will now be selling all on my Apple products and will never buy one ever again.  GFY, Apple.

• @robertscotthorton Scott Horton on bluesky

  Apple just removed ICEBlock, the app for reporting sightings of ICE, from its App Store after mob style pressure brought to bear by Trump's DOJ.  ICEBlock's developer tells 404 Media “we are determined to fight this.”  “Capitulating to an authoritarian regime is never the right m…

• @shitpost.expert Conrad on bluesky

  people are willing to cancel a different streaming service every other month or whatever but i know iphone people and they'll never quit that ecosystem and tim apple knows it too!  [embedded post]

• @esqueer.net Alejandra Caraballo on bluesky

  There's nothing illegal about ICE block.  This is solely about Apple appeasing the Trump regime.  —  With Google removing sideloading next year, these companies will have total control over what runs on your phone.  —  www.businessinsider.com/apple- iceblo...

• @gwensnyder @gwensnyder on bluesky

  They kept Telegram on their App Store even after it was used as an organizing platform first for ISIS and then for murder Nazis [embedded post]

• @marypcbuk Scary Mary Branscombe on bluesky

  It would have been better if Apple took it out for not doing enough to protect user data; I've seen a lot of criticism of its data handling [embedded post]

• @thescot @thescot on bluesky

  “Special Agent Joseph Rothrock said: “It's no different than giving a hitman the location of their intended target”  —  www.bbc.com/news/article...

• @reckless Nilay Patel on bluesky

  Big tech CEOs have spent more than a decade puffing their chests and saying that they are more like heads of state running global companies with bigger revenues than many countries  —  ... but now they're all folding to actual government pressure faster than any tinpot dictator h…

• @dell Dell Cameron on bluesky

  Won't be the last.  I wouldn't be surprised if web hosts receive similar requests about other browser-based OSINT tools.  DHS has been circulating lists of them to law enforcement and claiming, without evidence, that they can be used to plot attacks.  [embedded post]

• @nickfisherau Nick Fisher on bluesky

  The Apple/Google mobile duopoly isn't just about brain rot games and video apps.  —  These devices are central to communication and coordination in a modern society.  Without the right to install what you want on your own device, you forfeit the ability to organise and oppose the…

• @esqueer.net Alejandra Caraballo on bluesky

  This was done at the direction of Pam Bondi.  The US government is now dictating what apps you can have on your phone.  —  The underlying threat here is if Apple didn't comply, they'd slap billions in tariffs on Apple products.  [image]

• @mezentine @mezentine on bluesky

  This is very bad but also I think we've become way too reliant on the App Store ecosystem for a lot of critical things.  I hope there's a way to implement ICEBlock as a website in the short term.  In the long term we need independent infrastructure.  [embedded post]

• @pkafka Peter Kafka on bluesky

  Pam Bondi says Apple complied with DOJ order to take down an ICE tracking app.  —  www.businessinsider.com/apple- iceblo...  [embedded post]

• @utopianparallax Just Some Guy on bluesky

  lol remember when they pretended to be mad about big tech suppressing freedom of speech?  🤡 [embedded post]

• @ErikJonker@mastodon.social Erik Jonker on mastodon

  People should forget all their ideas about #Apple not being evil like Google, Microsoft and Meta...  “Apple removed ICEBlock reportedly after direct pressure from Department of Justice officials. ”  I am incredibly disappointed by Apple's actions today.."  —  https://www.404media…

• @colincornaby@mastodon.social Colin Cornaby on mastodon

  Good news we don't have to worry about how Apple operates in China anymore because now we're the China https://www.404media.co/...

• @marcoarment@mastodon.social Marco Arment on mastodon

  Glad to see Apple's leaders showing so much courage.  —  I'm sure their founders, and the historical heroes they love to quote on their homepage on important dates, would've been so proud of the courage and values they practice today.  —  https://www.theverge.com/...

• @gufo@mastodon.nu @gufo@mastodon.nu on mastodon

  And yet, Apple *insists* that their App Store monopoly makes their users safer and the EU should absolutely not force them to allow alternatives.  —  https://www.theverge.com/...

• @lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org Lauren Weinstein on mastodon

  Fascist Apple kisses fascist Trump's ass, removes “ICEBlock” app that revealed locations of ICE Gestapo attacks on the public  —  https://www.404media.co/...  [image]

• r/google r on reddit

  Google Calls ICE Agents a Vulnerable Group, Removes ICE-Spotting App ‘Red Dot’ |  The move comes as Apple removed ICEBlock after direct pressure …

• r/StallmanWasRight r on reddit

  Apple pulls ICEBlock from the App Store.  AG Pam Bondi claimed the app is ‘designed to put ICE agents at risk,’ which its developer denies.

• r/DenverProtests r on reddit

  Apple Takes Down ICE Tracking Apps Amid Trump Pressure Campaign

• r/politics r on reddit

  Apple removes ICE tracking apps after pressure by Trump administration

• r/inthenews r on reddit

  Apple removes ICE tracking app ICEBlock after Trump admin pressure

• r/2600 r on reddit

  ICEBlock Owner After Apple Removes App: ‘We Are Determined to Fight This’

• r/politics r on reddit

  ICEBlock Owner After Apple Removes App: ‘We Are Determined to Fight This’

• r/DeclineIntoCensorship r on reddit

  US government just forced a tech company to delete an app it doesn't like

• r/JoeRogan r on reddit

  The US Government is now deciding what apps Americans can download

• r/MarchAgainstNazis r on reddit

  Apple removes ICE tracking apps after Trump AG pressure

• r/Fuckthealtright r on reddit

  Apple removes ICE tracking apps after Trump AG pressure

• r/AntifascistsofReddit r on reddit

  Apple removes ICE tracking apps after Trump AG pressure

• r/EyesOnIce r on reddit

  ICEBlock Owner After Apple Removes App: ‘We Are Determined to Fight This’

• r/Fauxmoi r on reddit

  ICEBlock Owner Joshua Aaron reacts to Apple removing app, that lets people report sightings of ICE agents in close proximity …

• r/technology r on reddit

  ICEBlock Owner After Apple Removes App: ‘We Are Determined to Fight This’

• r/NewDealAmerica r on reddit

  Apple removes ICE tracking apps after Trump AG pressure

• r/news r on reddit

  Apple removes ICE tracking apps after Trump AG pressure

• r/ICE_Raids r on reddit

  Seems we are all going home now.  Apple removes ICE tracking apps after Trump AG pressure

• r/politics r on reddit

  Apple removes ICE tracking apps after Trump AG pressure