Meta removes ICE-tracking Facebook page after DOJ steps in

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In yet another episode of “Tech Giants and the Feds: Who’s Actually in Charge?” Meta has taken down a Facebook group allegedly used to track Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Chicago, but not before the Justice Department got involved.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi proudly announced on X (Twitter) that Facebook had axed a “large group page used to dox and target ICE agents” after the DOJ reached out. 

Today following outreach from @thejusticedept, Facebook removed a large group page that was being used to dox and target @ICEgov agents in Chicago.

The wave of violence against ICE has been driven by online apps and social media campaigns designed to put ICE officers at risk…

— Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) October 14, 2025

Meta’s Andy Stone confirmed the removal, saying the group violated the company’s “policies against coordinated harm.” 

He didn’t name names, but right-wing influencer Laura Loomer was quick to connect the dots, claiming it was a group called “ICE Sighting – Chicagoland.” 

Loomer said a DOJ source told her the agency took action after her post drew attention to it.

Neither the DOJ nor ICE offered details about actual threats, but the takedown follows a familiar pattern: Apple and Google recently pulled ICE-tracking apps from their stores after similar government nudges. 

One such app, ICEBlock, had shot up the App Store charts earlier this year before Apple booted it. Its developer called accusations that it endangered officers “patently false.”

On paper, Meta and Apple can remove whatever content they like. 

But Bondi’s bragging has reignited a sticky debate about “jawboning,” government officials quietly pressuring tech platforms to take down speech they legally can’t censor themselves. 

Critics say that it blurs the line between content moderation and state coercion.

The irony? The Trump administration’s DOJ now finds itself in a role Republicans spent years blasting Biden officials for, leaning on Big Tech to scrub controversial posts. 

The Supreme Court even weighed in this summer, finding no “concrete link” between White House requests and platform removals.

Meanwhile, evidence that ICE-tracking tools cause violence is flimsy at best. 

Still, the government insists they’re dangerous, and Big Tech, ever wary of Washington’s wrath, seems happy to hit delete first and ask questions later.