The tech giant pulls ICE official monitoring applications
The company has removed apps that allowed users to flag observations of personnel from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The technology giant announced it had taken down the tracking application from its application marketplace after authorities informed them about potential "safety risks" associated with the application and "similar apps".
Based on a announcement sent to press agencies, the top law enforcement official the Attorney General had "demanded" the app's withdrawal stating it was "designed to place ICE officers at harm".
The app's creator countered that such assertions were "demonstrably incorrect" and charged the company of "giving in to an authoritarian regime".
History of the Controversial Software
This software is one of numerous programs released in recent months in answer to heightened immigration enforcement raids across the United States.
Detractors - including the creator of this application - charge the government of exploiting its influence and "spreading terror" to US streets.
The free application functions by displaying the locations of ICE personnel. It has been installed over a million times in the US.
Risk Factors
Nevertheless, authorities argued it was being employed to target enforcement personnel, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation indicating that the suspect who targeted an ICE facility in Dallas in recently - killing two detainees - had employed related software to track the movements of agents and their transportation.
Through an official declaration, the technology firm commented: "We developed the App Store to be a protected and dependable environment to discover applications.
"According to intelligence we've received from authorities about the potential dangers associated with ICEBlock, we have eliminated it and comparable applications from the App Store."
Programmer's Position
But its developer, the programmer, refuted it presented a threat.
"This application is no different from crowdsourcing speed traps, which all major navigation app, such as the company's proprietary mapping application," he commented.
"This represents constitutionally protected expression under the constitutional protection of the United States Constitution."
The developer - who has had experience in the tech industry for many years - earlier stated he developed the app out of anxiety over a surge in ICE activities.
"I certainly monitored very carefully during the previous administration and then I paid attention to the language during the political contest for the present," he said.
"My brain started firing on what was about to transpire and what I could accomplish to keep people safe."
Administration Position
The White House and Federal Bureau of Investigation had condemned the app after it debuted in spring and usage increased.
