BBC Falsely Claims Stopping Deadly ICE-Tracking Apps is Illegal, But

The National Review Has Just Explained Why and How It Can Be Done Legally
 
WASHINGTON - Oct. 2, 2025 - PRLog -- In an article entitled Could US Government Ban Apps Which Track ICE Agents? (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2lxwxnnx2zo) -  the BBC claims that the US could not ban the app;

But the NATIONAL REVIEW, in an article entitled After the Dallas Attack, Can the Trump Administration Do Anything About ICE-Tracker Apps? (https://www.nationalreview.com/news/after-the-dallas-attack-can-the-trump-administration-do-anything-about-ice-tracker-apps/) disagrees.

The analysis reported by the BBC has several basic legal flaws, says Banzhaf,  He notes that:
■ The BBC focuses exclusively on a possible ban which would have to be enacted by a sharply divided Congress, while ignoring criminal prosecutions
■ It fails to analyze or even cite to any specific federal statute which might be applicable
■ It seems to assume that the app operator would be targeted directly and individually, rather than as an accessory before-the-fact under existing and well established federal law
■ It incorrectly assumes the ban would be based upon "national security grounds" rather than on a specific statute prohibiting impeding or interfering with a federal official
■ It ignores the revealing name of the app (to "Block" ICE), and the clear history of how it has been used; both of which establish the criminal intent of the developer and operator.

Attorney Banzhaf begins his legal analysis by noting that 18 U.S. Code § 111 (https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/111) provides that any person who "impedes, intimidates, or interferes" with any federal official "while engaged in or on account of the performance of official duties" is guilty of a federal felony.

Moreover, any person who did anything to encourage, aid, or assist in any material manner in the commission of any such crime is equally guilty as an accessory before-the-fact.

This makes these ICE-tracking apps very different from "police radio scanners"

The very name of the app - ICEBlock (https://www.iceblock.app/) - says it all, since blocking a federal official from carrying out any official duty is an extreme and successful form of impeding or interfering.

Just an someone operating an app to tell users where a large group of Jews (or other group) are gathered in an unguarded public place - e.g., a Jew-tracking app perhaps named JewGet or JewTrack - could be prosecuted as an accessory before-the-fact, those who operate a ICE-tracking app can also be prosecuted.

SEE ALSO:
Use of the Iceblock App Is Exploding; Criminal Prosecution Is Likely (https://www.crescent-news.com/apgstate/use-of-the-iceblock-app-is-exploding-criminal-prosecution-is-likely/article_4e5a93a4-0ca9-5788-92d7-d44bf36c86c9.html)

Used to Target Killing at ICE; App Criminal Prosecution Likely -- Expert Suggests Warning People About ICE Activity May Be A Federal Crime (http://prsync.com/george-washington-university/used-to-target-killing-at-ice-app-criminal-prosecution-likely----expert-suggests-warning-people-about-ice-activity-may-be-a-fede-4943544/),

http://banzhaf.net/  jbanzhaf3ATgmail.com  @profbanzhaf

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