Eyes Up Removed From the App Store
Joseph Cox (Bluesky, Reddit):
Apple removed an app for preserving TikToks, Instagram reels, news reports, and videos documenting abuses by ICE, 404 Media has learned. The app, called Eyes Up, differs from other banned apps such as ICEBlock which were designed to report sightings of ICE officials in real-time to warn local communities. Eyes Up, meanwhile, was more of an aggregation service pooling together information to preserve evidence in case the material is needed in the future in court.
[…]
“Our goal is government accountability, we aren’t even doing real-time tracking,” the administrator of Eyes Up, who said their name was Mark, told 404 Media. Mark asked 404 Media to only use his first name to protect him from retaliation.
I’ve not seen an official statement from either Apple or the government. Perhaps there was a direct government request/demand about Eyes Up, but it’s also possible that there was a copyright concern (since the app collected content already uploaded to other platforms) or that Apple just took down everything related to ICE without specifically considering Eyes Up.
Wes Hilliard and Mike Wuerthele:
So, it’s not as if you can switch to another product or service in hopes of escaping these issues or voting with your wallet without going totally off grid. The problem doesn’t lie with the companies — it lies with those in power taking the actions, and making the “requests.”
Again, I think there’s a double standard here. If the government were requesting private customer data stored on Apple’s servers, you would blame the government (if the request were in fact unreasonable) but also blame Apple for not storing it securely. But design a system tailor-made for the government to control app distribution and it’s only the government’s fault for (ab)using it? This is not a recently discovered vulnerability. It was obvious in theory from the dawn of the App Store, and governments have been putting it into practice for almost as long.
At the rate things are going, I expect an “Apple provides government with list of users who downloaded ICEBlock app” headline in a few more weeks.
It’s also a flaw in the system that Apple gets a list of all the apps everyone’s installed, even for free apps.
It won’t just be a list of users though, thanks to “Find My” they’ll have their current location too.
I am complicit for having spent my career trying to make this platform attractive to users—drawing them out of places where their rights had more resilience.
[…]
I fixate on clear examples that make it easy to think about nuanced topics.
That it is federally illegal to distribute TikTok, yet it remains in the App Store, and that it is not illegal to host or share videos of law enforcement activity, yet these apps are being removed, is one such example.
The Eyes Up website is still up and can be used for the same video archiving purposes with content uploaded from TikTok, Instagram or X and include “a mix of professional media reports and user-generated clips of ICE arrests.”
Previously:
- Complying With Texas Age Verification
- Lessons From San Bernardino and ICEBlock
- Evolving AltStore PAL
- ICEBlock Removed From the App Store
- TikTok Back in the App Store
- Musi for YouTube Removed From the App Store
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Another one bites the dust:
"Apple has quietly removed DeICER, a civic-reporting app used to log immigration enforcement activity, from its App Store after a law enforcement complaint — invoking a rule normally reserved for protecting marginalized groups from hate speech."
https://migrantinsider.com/p/scoop-apple-quietly-made-ice-agents
> It’s also a flaw in the system that Apple gets a list of all the apps everyone’s installed, even for free apps.
But Apple needs that info for Apple Search Ads.
This is the same Apple that criticized Facebook for tracking users while simultaneously preparing to suck every dollar from every developer and implemented the same biz model. It’s hilarious that grown people think this giant corporation is principled.
Search CNN on the App Store. You’ll get two results - first the CNN ad, then the CNN “organic” listing. Two listings in a row for the same app. You click the first listing and CNN has to pay the toll. I must be the only one enraged by this — that developers have to bid on their own app name. The piles of cash Apple’s collects from this practice must be astronomical
Back to this takedown-
It isn’t clear that this takedown has anything to do with the government. Musi put their own front end on youtube. Google asked them to take it down and they did. It’s possible one of the sites complained to Apple that the archiving app violated their Terms of Service. Info wars got taken down b/c Alex Jones talks shit which is free speech.
They don’t fight for customers they don’t fight for developers they fight only for themselves. Not really breaking news here.
Woah... I'll do my best to provide a link. Looks like this app is available on both major OSs... called Hots and Cots: https://www.hotscots.app
What I get is this....
-- It's a link that I gave and doesn't seem suspicious
-- To quote their website - "Your source for Barracks and DFAC Reviews"
-- In case if you get this far, it's available to download, for both Android and iOS
For more details, go to https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/10/06/got-complaints-about-barracks-or-dining-hall-now-theres-app.html
Somebody PLEASE tell me how this differs from EyesUp or just about any other app. The ONLY thing I can see is that the US government has no intent to shut it down (nor Apple yet).
I think it’s just time we stop giving Apple our money. As Disney showed, the only thing they care about is money and they don’t deserve any of ours
I’m gonna get my stuff off iCloud and then cancel it
@Manx thing is it goes deeper than iCloud. I have to give Apple money at some point because I need a phone and a computer. And my only other choice is Google and Microsoft. They’re no better. Well Microsoft is a little better simply because they’re not in the position of power the other two are, but if they had succeeded they would be just as bad guaranteed.
