Feds Agree to Stop Pressuring Apple, Facebook Over ICE-Tracking Tools

The federal government has agreed to stop pressuring Apple and Facebook to restrict a Facebook group and a phone app used to report Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity, the free speech group FIRE said Friday, according to Reuters.

The agreement resolves a lawsuit the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression filed in February against the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security, Reuters reported.

Free speech nonprofit says US to end efforts to curb Facebook group and app reporting ICE activity https://t.co/RgsdfpY45G

— Reuters (@Reuters) November 14, 2026

What the government agreed to

Attorney General Todd Blanche and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin agreed not to pressure Apple to suppress the Eyes Up app, according to a federal court order filed Friday, The Indiana Lawyer reported. The two officials also agreed not to pressure Facebook to suppress the “ICE Sightings – Chicagoland” Facebook group, according to The Indiana Lawyer.

On Nov. 13, based on an agreement between the plaintiffs and the government, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois converted an earlier preliminary injunction into a permanent injunction, FIRE said on its case page. FIRE said the order bars DOJ and DHS officials from taking any actions to pressure Facebook and Apple to suppress the plaintiffs’ speech.

Who brought the case

FIRE sued on behalf of Kassandra Rosado, a Chicago woman who created the Facebook group, and Mark Hodges, a Brown County, Indiana, man whose company, Kreisau Group, built Eyes Up, The Indiana Lawyer reported. The suit originally named then-Attorney General Pam Bondi and then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, according to The Indiana Lawyer.

Eyes Up lets users upload, record and view videos of ICE activity and police encounters, which are location- and time-stamped on a map, according to The Indiana Lawyer, citing Hodges’ company. FIRE said Rosado’s group grew to nearly 100,000 members after ICE launched an enforcement surge in Chicago in September 2025.

The lawsuit alleged that Facebook disabled Rosado’s group and that Apple removed Eyes Up in response to demands by federal officials, Reuters reported. Apple removed the app from its store in October of last year, citing guidance from law enforcement, Indiana Public Media reported. In a statement to Fox News, Bondi said Apple did so at her demand, according to Indiana Public Media.

How the case unfolded

An Illinois federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in April halting the government’s alleged pressure, The Indiana Lawyer reported. On Aug. 4, the court denied the government’s motion to dismiss the case, rejecting arguments that the plaintiffs lacked standing and failed to state a claim, according to FIRE.

“I’m glad the government agreed to stop targeting my speech, but it shouldn’t take a lawsuit to get the government to respect our constitutional rights,” Hodges said in a statement released by FIRE, according to The Indiana Lawyer.

The Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters reported.

Sources

• Reuters on X
• FIRE: Federal officials agree to end censorship of Facebook group and app reporting ICE activity
• FIRE case page: Rosado et al. v. Blanche et al.
• The Indiana Lawyer: Government agrees to avoid suppressing app Indiana man built to track ICE
• Indiana Public Media: Federal government backs down in case involving Brown County man’s ICE-tracking website

Reporting by Daily Beltway.