After Apple removed the ICEBlock application, used for reporting activities of the immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) agents, from the App Store, Google also removed similar applications from the Play Store. Google stated in a statement to Engadget, “ICEBlock was never available on Google Play, but we removed similar applications because they violated our policies.”
Google Removed These Types of Applications from the Play Store!
Google explained that the decision was made “following the association of applications sharing location information of vulnerable groups with incidents of violence.” The company also emphasized that the removed applications do not sufficiently monitor user-generated content. According to Google’s policies, applications that contain user content must clearly define what is appropriate or inappropriate in their terms of service.
According to a report by 404 Media, a similar application called Red Dot was also removed by both Google and Apple. Red Dot presented a system that collected ICE activities from verified sources and marked them on a map. Although the app developers stated, “Red Dot does not track any individuals or ICE agents,” the application can no longer be downloaded from the Play Store and App Store.
