Photo: Apple
Using an AirTag for anything like stalking an individual could soon become illegal in Indiana if new bills, currently waiting for Senate’s approval, eventually get the go-ahead.
Launched by Apple specifically to help keep track of belongings like car keys and wallets, the AirTag rapidly evolved to become a popular device among criminals. Its small form factor allows the device to be planted pretty much anywhere, including behind the license plates of the cars thieves planned to steal.
In the last few months, however, the number of stalking cases involving Apple’s GPS tracker skyrocketed. People ended up finding the AirTag in their pockets, in coats or purses, sometimes after being alerted by their iPhones that somebody might be tracking them.
New bills introduced by Indiana lawmakers are trying to fight the nefarious uses of AirTag with increased punishments that would fall under Class A misdemeanors. Senator Liz Brown explains in Senate Bill No. 83 that planting a tracking device on an individual or their property should be considered remote criminal tracking and must therefore be considered a Class C action – the penalty, however, should be increased if the person uses the data provided by the GPS tracker to commit or facilitate the commission of a felony.
If the bills pass, they could come into effect on July 1, 2023.
Apple’s AirTag relies on the Find My network to send its location to the owner. This way, it can connect to any nearby iPhone to share such information in the Find My app installed on the owner’s phone, with the data updated nearly in real-time.
The device also comes with several privacy protections, but on the other hand, many of them have proved rather ineffective so far. AirTags can send a notification on nearby iPhones that a GPS tracker could be moving with them, while a beep sound helps people find its location.
In the case of Android users, however, a separate application that must be installed from the Google Play Store is the only way to determine if an AirTag is tracking them. The app requires manual scans to be performed by the user, whereas on an iPhone, the notifications are issued automatically without any input required on the device.
The new bills would increase the punishments for misusing an AirTag, but this doesn’t mean that criminals out there would stop turning to the device to track their victims. The only one that can help on this front is Apple, as the company should make it harder for the GPS tracker to be used for such nefarious purposes. The Cupertino firm has already introduced a series of protections in an update shipped in 2022, but at this point, Android users continue to be exposed due to the lack of a built-in way to detect nearby AirTags.
In the last few months, however, the number of stalking cases involving Apple’s GPS tracker skyrocketed. People ended up finding the AirTag in their pockets, in coats or purses, sometimes after being alerted by their iPhones that somebody might be tracking them.
New bills introduced by Indiana lawmakers are trying to fight the nefarious uses of AirTag with increased punishments that would fall under Class A misdemeanors. Senator Liz Brown explains in Senate Bill No. 83 that planting a tracking device on an individual or their property should be considered remote criminal tracking and must therefore be considered a Class C action – the penalty, however, should be increased if the person uses the data provided by the GPS tracker to commit or facilitate the commission of a felony.
If the bills pass, they could come into effect on July 1, 2023.
Apple’s AirTag relies on the Find My network to send its location to the owner. This way, it can connect to any nearby iPhone to share such information in the Find My app installed on the owner’s phone, with the data updated nearly in real-time.
The device also comes with several privacy protections, but on the other hand, many of them have proved rather ineffective so far. AirTags can send a notification on nearby iPhones that a GPS tracker could be moving with them, while a beep sound helps people find its location.
In the case of Android users, however, a separate application that must be installed from the Google Play Store is the only way to determine if an AirTag is tracking them. The app requires manual scans to be performed by the user, whereas on an iPhone, the notifications are issued automatically without any input required on the device.
The new bills would increase the punishments for misusing an AirTag, but this doesn’t mean that criminals out there would stop turning to the device to track their victims. The only one that can help on this front is Apple, as the company should make it harder for the GPS tracker to be used for such nefarious purposes. The Cupertino firm has already introduced a series of protections in an update shipped in 2022, but at this point, Android users continue to be exposed due to the lack of a built-in way to detect nearby AirTags.
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