DOJ may face investigation over removal of ICE agent tracking apps

The House Judiciary Committee wants the US Department of Justice to turn over all its communications with both Apple and Google regarding the companies’ decisions to remove apps that shared information about sightings of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

Several apps were removed from both Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store in October. Politico reported that Raskin has contacted Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“The coercion and censorship campaign, which ultimately targets the users of ICE-monitoring applications, is a clear effort to silence this Administration’s critics and suppress any evidence that would expose the Administration’s lies, including its Orwellian attempts to cover up the murders of Renee and Alex,” Raskin wrote to Bondi.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

Say goodbye to AI-assisted mass surveillance… for now.

Ring’s Super Bowl ad showcased its Search Party feature, scaring the pants off anyone concerned about a mass surveillance state and, well, the state of everything at the moment. Search Party turns individual Ring devices into a surveillance network. Each camera uses AI to detect pets running within its field of view, and feeds are pooled to help identify lost animals. If it can handle pups, why not people? Here’s how to disable it.

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The Luxurious Luce.

On a lighter note, consumer tech! Ferrari’s new car is no Apple Car. This is the Ferrari Luce (“light” in Italian), the actual name for the EV formerly known as Elettrica, and we (well, Tim Stevens) were lucky enough to get a walkthrough with Sir Jony Ive himself.

That’s because the interior was designed by LoveFrom, founded by Ive after leaving Apple in 2019. OpenAI acquired the design firm for $6.5 billion, and while the company has had numerous projects, the Luce could be its biggest yet. It’s filled with playful touches and a lot of, well, glass. If that tilting screen doesn’t shout iPhone design, what does?

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