Weak. Will be thrown out as it should.
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ICEBlock App Developer Sues Trump Officials, Claims Apple Was Pressured to Remove App
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Well no bmark that’s not respectful either is it?
It happened in 2014 under Obama and in 2019 under Trump, both times were inhumane and wrong.
You see it’s really easy to know what is right and wrong. You just have to put yourself in the place of the victim.
Eg1 Mass murderer get thrown to the ground, handcuffed by 30 police officers screaming and shouting.
Victims thoughts: fair cop!
Eg2 Mexican, 6 days away from citizenship, gets dragged away by masked men in unmarked cars in front of their 4 year old boy(traumatised) and transported to Venezuela with no due process.
Victims thoughts: a little heavy handed!
See? See how easy it is?
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Should have named it FindMyIce and then Apple might have bought it.
FOIA, though home addresses could reasonably be redacted, IMO. Kind of moot if those records are otherwise publicly available, though (eg, property tax records). Even then, there is a very valid public interest in ensuring that their law enforcement employees are following the rules, and many jurisdictions have residency requirements.
This is a bad faith argument. You do not have a legal right to know where law enforcement officers are arresting criminals that aren't you.
Not a right. But it's perfectly legal to tell others when you see a policeman in public. They're not supposed to be a secret police.
But here legality, knowing the situation in the US, is absolutely irrelevant. There's nothing legal or ethical about ICE and deportations. To me, knowing that it's illegal to warn people about ICE is as if somebody told me it was illegal to hide Jews in Germany in 1943: that "law" was established against all democratic principles, all international laws (the US pretends to be above it because nobody can enforce it) and, most importantly, all ethics.
We're talking about asylum seekers sent back to certain death in some case. It's absolutely disgusting and inhumane to approve of it.
In this case, Apple is, of course, choosing money and political advantage over ethics. But that's how capitalism works in general, they'll only choose ethics if it costs no money. Which makes it a marketing-friendly mockery of ethics.
The issue here is not the judges. We know they are appointed based on political affiliation. Democrats appoint left leaning judges and Republicans appoint right leaning judges.
The issue here is the first amendment. plaintiffs have good cause to say that could have been violated by the government. The defendants have good cause to say the app impeded federal law enforcement.
The question then becomes how you balance free speech vs protecting the national interest - that being deporting criminals.
The issue here is the first amendment. plaintiffs have good cause to say that could have been violated by the government. The defendants have good cause to say the app impeded federal law enforcement.
The question then becomes how you balance free speech vs protecting the national interest - that being deporting criminals.
Here is a link to Guideline 1.1.1. It states:
It's a stretch to say, as Apple does, that "[the app's] purpose is to provide location information about law enforcement officers that can be used to harm such officers individually or as a group" and therefore it falls under 1.1.1. The purpose of the app is to provide location information so that people can avoid said law enforcement officers, which, if anything makes them safer as confrontations are less likely to occur. Not to mention that said app users themselves are trying to avoid being targeted on the basis of origins, which is clearly exhibited in the ICE behavior of arresting first and checking status later.
I don't know who should be sued or what can be done, but if Apple wants to help support the Republican anti-immigration stance they really should put an explicit prohibition on sharing location information or people of law enforcement personnel rather than trying to stretch-interpret other tangentially-related clauses.
It's a stretch to say, as Apple does, that "[the app's] purpose is to provide location information about law enforcement officers that can be used to harm such officers individually or as a group" and therefore it falls under 1.1.1. The purpose of the app is to provide location information so that people can avoid said law enforcement officers, which, if anything makes them safer as confrontations are less likely to occur. Not to mention that said app users themselves are trying to avoid being targeted on the basis of origins, which is clearly exhibited in the ICE behavior of arresting first and checking status later.
I don't know who should be sued or what can be done, but if Apple wants to help support the Republican anti-immigration stance they really should put an explicit prohibition on sharing location information or people of law enforcement personnel rather than trying to stretch-interpret other tangentially-related clauses.
Might be an interesting question — whenever ICE starts actually doing that, as opposed to harassing citizens, legal residents, immigrants literally in the middle of legal immigration proceedings, unauthorized immigrants who have committed no crimes, and yes, the occasional actual criminal as well.
And the thing is, someone isn't a "criminal" until proven so beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law. Doesn't matter what their immigration status is. And guess what's always happened to non-citizens who are convicted of serious offenses? They serve their time and then, frequently, are deported.
Literally no change was needed here to enforce the law as most people claim they would like to see. It was already happening. The only thing that's changed is now ICE is just freely violating both US and international law while making a mockery of human rights, because apparently what some people actually wanted was the spectacle of seeing immigrants hurt.
That's what makes this so sad. Companies went all in on progressive values when it was easy. Turns out all that was little more than a marketing ploy.
And this is why the App Store monopoly should be illegal and should have been blocked years ago, like Europe is finally getting around to doing. A single company having the ability to unilaterally control what software their customers have access to on what's now a de-facto standard information access device is far too easy a target for government demands. If you don't have access to do as you please with the software on a device you purchased, then you don't really own the device.
In democracies we're brought up to adhere to the law and stick to the rules, even if we don't agree with them. Somehow, this is different due to the nature of the ruling class in the US at this time. Societies will struggle and fail when a tipping point is reached and that tipping point seems to be steadily approaching. In order to keep order I can see that Apple need to remove this app but it takes little away from perceiving that the behaviour and direction of ICE operatives may often be either illegal or needlessly heavy-handed.
we're all dying for you to tell us what exact section of 1.1.1 this app "clearly violated" and how
That's the problem with the gated community. All authorities can put pressure on Apple to ban an app and Apple might get sued for allowing an app.
Exactly. If Apple didn't have the door locked and deadbolted, I could just go elsewhere and download this app, and Apple wouldn't be caught in the middle.
The first thing that I thought after reading the headline was First Amendment violation.
The first sentence that I read was First Amendment violation.
The first sentence that I read was First Amendment violation.
Enforcing the law is not unconstitutional. Hindering law enforcement activity is a crime. Being in the U.S. illegally is a crime.
If they want to protest, then go to the mayors office, go to ICE headquarters, go to main street, etc. There are plenty of places to protest peacefully and legally if that is the real goal. But you and I both know that is not the goal of these paid anti-American protestors.
Again, I have protested, my wife has, many of my friends, and some of my family. I live in a very, very, very red state. None of us been paid, offered any payment, or would we accept any payment. Stop repeating made-up nonsense. I will continue, when I see it and when I want, at the location it is happening. Protesting is legal on all public property, though a permit may be required when requiring complete use of an area. I live in an unincorporated area, so we have no Main Street, we have no Mayor, and there is no ICE headquarters.
Illegal immigration should be handled, but it should be with respect and dignity, with complete access to an attorney and visitors/family, and no one should ever be sent a country they aren't voluntarily agreeing to go to. Ever.
..but getting back to the original point. Posting a location of a 'law enforcement' group isn't hindering anything, and is completely and totally legal. ICEBlock was removed because it hurt Trump's feelings, nothing more. I put 'law encforment' in quotes, because they aren't, they are hired with no real training, no experience and no clue what they are doing... they just want to play Billy Bad-Ass. My brother is a police officer, and he had 26 weeks/600 hours at a police academy before he was allowed to do his job, and he has a four-year degree in criminal justice; soon to be a Masters. These current ICE losers would be picking up trash and scrubbing toilets otherwise.
Have a good day!
TLDR: ICE can get bent.
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I surmise that this could be a decent thread this to identify the supporters of and those who oppose the current ‘Dictatorship’ in the USA.
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I wonder how this is any different than navigation apps that allow you to flag law enforcement and gets pushed to other drivers. My SUV constantly alerts me to police upcoming while I drive. I always flag a sitting police car as I pass if it isnt in the system yet.
Imagine getting triggered over not being able to aid potential felons, because criminal activity and doing things illegally is the new meta.
Or those who support keeping our country safe and those who don’t.
ICE doesn’t increase safety, in any way, shape or form. It increases fear and distrust among citizens. I’m not scared of immigrants, and I interact with daily at the hospital I work at.
Federal agents should only operate on federal property, and borders.
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Honestly this whole thing seems like a branding issue... the word "block" immediately conjures the idea of obstruction of justice. If this app really just reports sightings/activity of public ICE personnel/operations, it probably should not have been removed from the App Store. If it was called ICEreport or ICEradar or whatever, it would sound way less hostile.
ICEblock, ICEskate, ICEdispense, ICEmelt, any of those action words make it sound like the intent of the app is to oppose, evade, or otherwise subvert the law.
Also, if the fed gov believes that the app is being used to organize malicious action against some of their employees, I don't think it's a first amendment offense for them to ask Apple to remove. Apple could say no, as they have in many other cases. Yes there are always conflicts of interest with these situations, but we're talking about a company platform, not the right to free speech itself. There are many other platforms out there you can use.
I am not saying any of this to be political or take a stance on what ICE is doing.
If you are telling the truth, and I have no reason to believe you, then you are the exception.
The good thing about America is that people can have anti-American beliefs and as long as they are not criminals or committing a crime nothing will happen to them.
However, if you associate yourself with criminals, protect criminals, or attempt to inhibit law enforcement, then you should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
The last decade has proven that illegals in America have significantly increased crime including rape and child sex trafficking. I am personally sick and tired of people protecting criminals over women and child victims. Doing that is simply un-American.