ICEBlock Creator Files Lawsuit Alleging Government Coercion After App Removal

The developer of ICEBlock, an app intended to report local sightings of ICE agents and other law‑enforcement personnel, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government on Monday, alleging violations of his First Amendment rights.

The complaint follows Apple’s removal of the app from its App Store in October. Developer Joshua Aaron alleges the Trump administration pressured Apple to ban ICEBlock over concerns the app could be used to endanger U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Aaron’s attorneys contend that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi indicated the Department of Justice had demanded Apple take the app down and that the government “used its regulatory power to coerce a private platform to suppress First Amendment‑protected expression,” the filing states.

According to the lawsuit, Apple relied on a review guideline that bars apps enabling objectionable content that could be used to harm a targeted group, and characterized ICEBlock as targeting law‑enforcement personnel. Aaron told CNBC the legal action is informed by the founders’ view that “the survival of our democratic republic isn’t guaranteed,” and said civic vigilance and accountability motivate the suit. He is represented pro bono by attorneys from Sher Tremonte in New York.

Apple has previously removed apps used to track police movements, most notably in 2019 when it pulled an app used by Hong Kong protesters, citing instances in which the app was used by criminals to target and ambush officers. Aaron said he developed an Android version of ICEBlock but was unable to release it, and that Alphabet, Google’s parent company, later agreed to prohibit apps that facilitate tracking of law‑enforcement personnel from its app store.

Representatives for Apple and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and the Department of Justice had not provided a statement at the time of reporting. Aaron launched ICEBlock in April in response to intensified immigration enforcement under the Trump administration. Data from the University of California, Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project indicate that more than one‑third of the roughly 220,000 people arrested by ICE officers in the first nine months of the Trump administration had no criminal histories. A Gallup poll released on Nov. 28 found that 37% of U.S. voters approved of the administration’s handling of immigration.