Meta Is Blocking Users From Sharing Website Listing ICE Agents

Meta has started blocking its users from sharing links to ICE List, a website that has compiled the names of what it claims are Department of Homeland Security employees, a task the creators accidental is designed to clasp those employees accountable.

Dominick Skinner, the creator of ICE List, tells WIRED that links to the website person been shared without contented connected Meta’s platforms for much than six months.

“I deliberation it's nary astonishment that a institution tally by a antheral who sat down Trump astatine his inauguration, and donated to the demolition of the White House, has taken a stance that helps ICE agents clasp anonymity,” says Skinner.

As agents from Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which are nether DHS, person continued to terrorize migrant communities and termination US citizens, activists person sought to way and grounds their enactment online successful a bid to clasp them accountable. But arsenic good arsenic threatening to prosecute those they assertion are “doxing” ICE agents, the Trump medication has pressured tech companies to artifact immoderate efforts astatine crowdsourcing the determination and activities of those agents.

ICE List has been operating since past June. Skinner says it is tally by a halfway squad of 5 people, including him, arsenic good arsenic hundreds of anonymous volunteers who stock accusation astir ICE agents operating successful cities crossed the US.

The tract went viral earlier this period erstwhile it claimed to person uploaded a leaked database of 4,500 DHS employees to its site, but a WIRED investigation recovered that the database relied heavy connected accusation the employees shared publically astir themselves connected sites specified arsenic LinkedIn.

Skinner said volunteers helium works with crossed the US archetypal reported problems with posting links connected Meta’s platforms connected Monday night.

On Tuesday morning, WIRED verified that posting links to the tract was blocked connected Instagram, Facebook, and Threads. WIRED besides confirmed that links tin inactive beryllium sent connected WhatsApp, different Meta-owned product.

While each the societal media platforms wherever the nexus is blocked are owned by Meta, the reasons users are fixed for their inability to nexus to the ICE List website vary.

When WIRED attempted to station a nexus to the site, we received a connection that read: “Posts that look similar spam according to our Community Guidelines are blocked connected Facebook and can't beryllium edited.” Hours later, however, that connection was updated to read: “Your contented couldn't beryllium shared, due to the fact that this nexus goes against our Community Standards.” The connection linked to Meta’s Community Standards homepage alternatively than a circumstantial portion of those rules.

Meanwhile connected Threads, the nexus instantly disappeared erstwhile pasted into a caller post, with a announcement simply saying: “Link not allowed.”

On Instagram, a announcement appearing aft an effort to station a Story read: “We restrict definite enactment to support our community. Let america cognize if you deliberation we made a mistake.”

When asked astir the block, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone directed WIRED to the company’s argumentation astir sharing personally identifiable information. When WIRED pointed retired that the accusation connected the ICE List did not look to incorporate immoderate of the accusation listed connected Meta’s policy, helium said it was successful narration to the argumentation prohibiting “content asking for personally identifiable accusation of others.”

In response, Skinner pointed retired that ICE List has been asking for tips astir the identities of ICE agents for six months.