Recently, AirTag has received a lot of media attention for the wrong reasons. In several stalking incidents, culprits used an AirTag to track a victim’s whereabouts and location to steal their cars, kidnap the person, or any other criminal intent. Therefore, House member, John Galloway has proposed new legislation which will make it illegal to use an AirTag for any other purpose than its intended use in Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
AirTag is a compact electronic tracker which allows users to attach it with easily lost items like keys, bags, and wallets and locate it via the Find My app. In addition, users can also play a sound on the tracker to locate it, get real-time directions to its exact location via Precision Finding within Bluetooth range on supported iPhone models, and with the support of vast Find My network, users can track it when it outside of the range, anywhere at any time. And these features have made AirTag a popular device for criminals to track unsuspecting individuals.
A new Pennsylvania law will make it illegal to misuse an AirTag
To discourage the use of an AirTag for stalking, Galloway has proposed the legislation to declare it illegal to use the tracker outside of its intended use. He said:
“Since Apple AirTags were introduced in April 2021, I have seen many articles about predators placing AirTags onto victims’ vehicles, purses and even coat pockets to track their location. The AirTag’s precision finding tool should only be used to locate the owner’s property, such as keys, wallet, or bookbag, as was the original intention of the product.”
Concerned with all the reports of stalking people and stealing cars, Apple published the new Personal Safety User Guide for users to keep themselves and their personal data safe while using AirTags, iPhones, and other products. In the dedicated section for AirTag, Apple explains the privacy features of the tracker which makes a sound when it has been separated from the owner, if an unknown tracker is detected traveling with a person, the individual receives a security alert which includes the instructions to know its serial number and disable it and more.
It must be kept in mind that AirTag is the only tracker which offers these anti-stalking features to alert unsuspecting victims. To learn more about the tracker click here.
via AppleInsider
