Meta has begun blocking links to ICE List, a website that compiles information on incidents involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol agents, and lists thousands of names of their employees. It seems that this last detail is what caused Meta to act in the first place. reported by Wired.
ICE List is a crowdsourced wiki that describes itself as “an independent public documentation project focused on immigration enforcement activities” in the United States. “Its purpose is to record, organize and maintain verifiable information on enforcement actions, agents, facilities, vehicles and associated incidents that would otherwise remain fragmented, difficult to access or undocumented,” its website states.
In addition to notable incidents, the website also lists the names of individual agents associated with ICE, CBP and other DHS agencies. According to Wiredthe website’s creators said much of this information came from a “leak”, although it appears to be largely based on public LinkedIn profiles. As Wired Remarks :
The site went viral earlier this month when it claimed to have uploaded a leaked list of 4,500 DHS employees to its site, but a WIRED analysis found that the list relied largely on information employees shared publicly about themselves on sites such as LinkedIn.
Links to ICE List have been spreading widely for several weeks, including on Meta platforms. There are many links to the website on Threads, some dating back several weeks. But now, clicking on previously shared links results in a message showing that the link cannot be opened. Users who try to share new links on Threads or Facebook also see error messages. “Posts that appear to be spam according to our community guidelines are blocked on Facebook and cannot be edited,” the notice states.
When reached for comment, a Meta spokesperson pointed to the company’s privacy policy prohibiting the disclosure of personally identifiable information (PII). The company did not explain why it chose to begin blocking the website after several weeks, or whether it considered public LinkedIn profiles to be in violation of its rules against doxxing.
This isn’t the first time Meta has chosen to remove posts from users who follow ICE stock news, however. The social network had previously deleted a Facebook group that ICE observations followed in Chicago after pressure of the Ministry of Justice.
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