Apple Faces Growing Suit Over “Stalking Via AirTags”

Ars Technica reports:

This month, more than three dozen victims allegedly terrorized by stalkers using Apple AirTags have joined a class-action lawsuit filed in a California court last December against Apple. They alleged in an amended complaint that, partly due to Apple’s negligence, AirTags have become “one of the most dangerous and frightening technologies employed by stalkers” because they can be easily, cheaply, and covertly used to determine “real-time location information to track victims.”

Since the lawsuit was initially filed in 2022, plaintiffs have alleged that there has been an “explosion of reporting” showing that AirTags are frequently being used for stalking. “Consequences have been as severe as possible: multiple murders have occurred in which the murderer used an AirTag to track the victim,” their complaint alleged. One plaintiff lost her son after his girlfriend allegedly used an AirTag to track his movements and then “followed him to a bar and ran him over with her car, killing him at the scene.”

Read the full article. Per the report, AirTags have been hidden in car wheel wells, purse linings, suitcases, and other personal items. Plaintiffs allege that Apple’s attempt at mitigation, such as phone alerts that a nearby AirTag is tracking you, have been insufficient.

Apple AirTags triggered “explosion” of stalking reports nationwide, lawsuit says https://t.co/hgiFL71da7

— Ars Technica (@arstechnica) October 12, 2023