Just one day after Apple took down the iOS App Store listing for ICEBlock, Google has confirmed to 404 Media that it has removed a similar app, Red Dot, from the Google Play Store. The company also reportedly said it “removed apps that share the location of what it describes as a vulnerable group after a recent violent act against them connected to this sort of app.”
On Thursday, Apple removed ICEBlock and similar apps, including Red Dot, after facing pressure from the Department of Justice. Attorney General Pam Bondi said to Fox News on Thursday that “ICEBlock is designed to put ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs, and violence against law enforcement is an intolerable red line that cannot be crossed.” In response to the move, ICEBlock developer Joshua Aaron said in a statement to 404 Media that the app is “protected speech,” adding that Apple is “capitulating to an authoritarian regime.”
Both ICEBlock and Red Dot allow users to anonymously report sightings of ICE agents and view nearby reports. Red Dot’s website says the app combines user reporting with “verified reports from multiple trusted sources” to monitor ICE activity.
Google told 404 Media that it didn’t receive any warning from the DOJ, but that it “bans apps with a high risk of abuse” and has a requirement for content moderation apps with user-generated content.“ICEBlock was never available on Google Play, but we removed similar apps for violations of our policies,” Google told 404 Media. The Verge reached out to Google with a request for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.
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