Apple Took Down These ICE-Tracking Apps. The Developers Aren't Giving Up

[usonian]

“We are going to do everything in our power to fight this,” says ICEBlock developer Joshua Aaron after Apple removed his app from the App Store.

https://archive.ph/sblRm#selection-691.0-691.144
https://www.wired.com/story/apple-took-down-ice-tracking-apps-their-developers-arent-giving-up/

The developer behind Eyes Up, one of the many Immigration and Customs Enforcement-related apps removed by Apple in recent days, was busy on Wednesday evening at a local planning session for the nationwide “No Kings” protest, scheduled for later this month. When WIRED eventually reached him by phone, he asked to be only identified by his first name, Mark, for safety reasons. “The administration will act on their grudges,” he says. “And they are not afraid to do so, frequently.”

He should know.
Mark’s app, a platform built to serve as a repository for videos and other materials documenting ICE activity, is not alone in getting kicked off Apple’s App Store. Earlier in October, ICEBlock was among the first ICE-related apps Apple removed. The decision followed claims from US attorney general Pam Bondi that such tools endanger ICE officers. Apple has also removed other tracking apps—including Red Dot and DEICER—as well as Eyes Up.

Like Mark, ICEBlock’s developer, Joshua Aaron, is determined to reverse the app store bans. “While I cannot speak to specifics right now, I can tell you that ICEBlock has an incredible legal team behind it and we are going to do everything in our power to fight this,” Aaron tells WIRED.

snip

Legal experts WIRED spoke with say that the ICE monitoring and documentation apps that Apple has removed from its App Store are clear examples of protected speech under the US Constitution’s First Amendment. “These apps are publishing constitutionally protected speech. They're publishing truthful information about matters of public interest that people obtained just by witnessing public events,” says David Greene, a civil liberties director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Or, as a certain Usonian emailed Mr. Tim Cook:

Do not obey in advance

Historian Timothy Snyder’s first lesson in his book On Tyranny is “Do not obey in advance.” To obey a tyrant before you are compelled to do so teaches them what they will be able to get you to do, easily, without even needing to expend the resources and energy it takes to carry out that part of their agenda.

Memes?

[Cha]

1. TY Joshua Aaron, Patriot!

Horrible Shame on you Tim Cook ,Profit Over Democracy.

Slimy look cozying up to the Fascist Fuck Neo Nazi, Stupid.

[nilram]

2. Kicked off of the Google platform, too.

https://apnews.com/article/apple-ice-iphone-app-immigration-fb6a404d3e977516d66d470585071bcc

A pox on both their houses!

[fujiyamasan]

3. I was always amused that people thought Apple somehow embodied "progressive" values

It’s no better than any other multinational corporation. Its number one obligation is to its shareholders. It’s supposed to make money and if that means kissing the orange one’s ass, in Tim Cook’s view it’s worth it.

I also remember when Google’s motto was “don’t be evil”.

You don’t get to have a market cap over a trillion dollars by being progressive. Sorry, we have created a system where companies have market caps greater than entire continents, and where the CEO of those companies have a wealth greater than many countries’ GDPs.

The motto of the story is don’t trust corporations. Take from them what you want just like they will from you. What I’ve come to realize as a normal everyday worker and retail investor is that all companies wouldn’t hesitate to fuck you over in a heartbeat. Loyalty to employers and “what’s good for GM is good for America” are the slogans of a bygone era.