White House condemnation sends ICEBlock to the top of the App Store charts

White House condemnation of a free app has drawn substantial attention to it, helping ICEBlock become the most popular social networking app in the App Store, beating out apps like X and Instagram.

ICEBlock alerts people to sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in their area, following a major immigration crackdown by the White House. Update: The US attorney general has said the app’s developer “had better watch out” – see end of the piece …

While the ICE operation is supposed to target illegal immigrants, there have been multiple examples of legal residents and even US citizens being detained. Tourists and business travellers have also been arrested and detained at airports, leading many to choose to shelve plans to visit the US.

Developer Joshua Aaron developed ICEBlock in response. At the time of a CNN report on the app, it had just 20,000 users.

“When I saw what was happening in this country, I wanted to do something to fight back,” Aaron told CNN, adding that the deportation efforts feel, to him, reminiscent of Nazi Germany. “We’re literally watching history repeat itself.”

ICEBlock is designed to be an “early warning system” for users when ICE is operating nearby, Aaron said. Users can add a pin on a map showing where they spotted agents — along with optional notes, like what officers were wearing or what kind of car they were driving. Other users within a five-mile radius will then receive a push alert notifying them of the sighting.

That report brought further attention to the app, but it was the White House condemning it which generated the most publicity.

President Donald Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the Trump administration is exploring prosecuting CNN for reporting on an iPhone app that alerts users to Immigrant and Customs Enforcement agents in their area.

“We’re working with the Department of Justice to see if we can prosecute them for that because what they’re doing is actively encouraging people to avoid law enforcement, operations,” Noem told reporters alongside Trump on July 1 as they toured a new detention center in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz.”

NBC’s Ben Goggin spotted the result.

ICEblock, which allows users to alert others to the geographical location of ICE officers, is the top social networking app in the App Store right now after Karoline Leavitt condemned it from the podium yesterday.

Update: Threat by US attorney general

Wired reports that US attorney general Pam Bondi has threatened app developer Joshua Aaron on live TV.

Bondi was on Fox News Monday talking about ICEBlock, when she spoke directly about Aaron, the app’s sole developer. “We are looking at him,” she said. “And he better watch out.” […]

But legal experts tell WIRED that ICEBlock falls under protected speech. “That is as basic and uncontroversial a First Amendment principle as they come,” says Alex Abdo, the litigation director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. “So, it’s pretty shocking to see federal law enforcement officials suggesting that there’s anything here to investigate.”

9to5Mac’s Take

Whatever your view on the ICE crackdown, this is a classic demonstration of the Streisand Effect – named after the singer’s attempt to block an obscure photo showing the location of her home. The photo had been downloaded only six times prior to her lawsuit, but saw more than 420,000 downloads the following month. The implied threat here appears to have drawn even more attention to the app, which is now the third most popular free download in the App Store.

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Screengrab: ICEBlock