EFF Demands Answers About ICE-Spotting App Takedowns

SAN FRANCISCO – The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) sued the departments of Justice (DOJ) and Homeland Security (DHS) today to uncover information about the federal government demanding that tech companies remove apps that document immigration enforcement activities in communities throughout the country. 

Tech platforms took down several such apps (including ICE Block, Red Dot, and DeICER) and webpages (including ICE Sighting-Chicagoland) following communications with federal officials this year, raising important questions about government coercion to restrict protected First Amendment activity.

“We’re filing this lawsuit to find out just what the government told tech companies,” said EFF Staff Attorney F. Mario Trujillo. “Getting these records will be critical to determining whether federal officials crossed the line into unconstitutional coercion and censorship of protected speech.”

In October, Apple removed ICEBlock, an app that allows users to report Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in their area, from its App Store. Attorney General Pamela Bondi publicly took credit for the takedown, telling reporters, “We reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store—and Apple did so.” In the days that followed, Apple removed several similar apps from the App Store. Google and Meta removed similar apps and webpages from platforms they own as well. Bondi vowed to “continue engaging tech companies” on the issue. 

People have a protected First Amendment right to document and share information about law enforcement activities performed in public. If government officials coerce third parties into suppressing protected activity, this can be unconstitutional, as the government cannot do indirectly what it is barred from doing directly.

Last month, EFF submitted Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to the DOJ, DHS and its component agencies ICE and Customs and Border Protection. The requests sought records and communications about agency demands that technology companies remove apps and pages that document immigration enforcement activities. So far, none of the agencies have provided these records. EFF’s FOIA lawsuit demands their release.

For the complaint: https://www.eff.org/document/complaint-eff-v-doj-dhs-ice-tracking-apps

For more about the litigation: https://www.eff.org/cases/eff-v-doj-dhs-ice-tracking-apps