Jamie Raskin, a member of the House Judiciary Committee and a Democratic representative from Maryland, has launched an investigation into whether the Justice Department pressured Apple and Google to remove ICEBlock and similar apps from the App Store and Play Store.
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According to the report, Raskin asked the Justice Department to turn over all records of his communications with Google and Apple related to discussions about apps that collect information for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Last October, just hours after Apple removed ICEBlock from the App Store, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondiconfirmed that “we contacted Apple today demanding that they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store — and Apple did so.”
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At the time, Apple justified the removals by stating: “We built the App Store to be a safe and trusted place to discover apps. Based on information we received from law enforcement about the security risks associated with ICΕBlock, we have removed it and similar apps from the App Store.”
Now, Raskin has requested a formal report into the Justice Department's involvement in the app removals to determine whether federal officials improperly influenced Apple and Google's oversight decisions.
«The campaign of coercion and censorship, which ultimately targets users of ICE tracking apps, is a clear attempt to silence critics of this Administration and suppress any evidence that would expose the Administration’s lies, including its Orwellian efforts to cover up the murders of Renee and Alex.»
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The report also notes that while Raskin's request may very well be ignored, this could just be a temporary delay in the event that Democrats regain control of the House in this year's midterm elections, as Raskin is likely to take over as chairman of the committee.
