The Legal System Is Completely Unprepared for Apple AirTag Stalking | "This will backfire," victims of stalking through the tracking devices say — but many police departments and judges remain ignorant of the dangers of this harassment.

TL;DR

Finally, in June, she found it inside one of her sons’ backpacks, in an insulated lunch pocket, taped down in the very bottom with white duct tape to match the lining of the bag.Where someone used to have to hire a private investigator to follow someone around to build evidence against them in a custody or divorce case, she said, they can now use something like a tracking device—or even just Facebook posts to make a case against their ex.“I think it's kind of crazy that parenting has become so scrutinized, that it is a way for abusers—or just, even if not abusive, just nasty people—to use [social media] against someone, to really surveil their life,” she said.In California, where Dozier lives, the law states that “no person or entity in this state shall use an electronic tracking device to determine the location or movement of a person.” But there are aspects of stalking through AirTags that can make it even harder for married people to get recourse; for example, if a tracking device is left in a car that they share, and that car is registered in the abuser’s name, this law doesn’t apply, and it can be nearly impossible to prove in court that the target was being stalked at all.“Judges and officers don't know enough about AirTags... and in criminal law, it's harder to prove [intent] beyond a reasonable doubt on the perpetrators because there's no hard evidence that they are in fact stalking, especially when you've been in a relationship with this person or you share a child with this person,” Dozier said."

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