Apple Sued by Women After Exes Use AirTags to Stalk Them

[MacRumors]

Apple is facing a lawsuit in federal court in San Francisco by two women, one of which claims her ex-boyfriend used an AirTag to track her without her consent, reports Bloomberg.

Since their release in April 2021, the use of Apple's AirTags has raised concerns among privacy groups and law enforcement that the trackers could be used for illegal tracking. Apple has built several safeguards to protect against unwanted tracking, but according to the new lawsuit, those safeguards are "inadequate."

The lawsuit, filed on Monday, claims that the safeguards in place, which include alerting iPhone users if an unknown AirTag is found to be following them, are "woefully inadequate, and do little, if anything, to promptly warn individuals if they are being tracked." The other woman in the lawsuit says her husband placed an AirTag in her child's backpack in order to track her. The two women are requesting an unspecified amount of damages and accusing Apple of releasing an unsafe product.

An ex-boyfriend of one of the women who filed the lawsuit planted an AirTag in the wheel well of her car and was able to find out where she had moved to avoid his harassment, according to the proposed class-action complaint filed Monday in federal court in San Francisco. The other woman said her estranged husband tracked her movements by placing an AirTag in her child's backpack.

Apple has addressed concerns that AirTags could be used for unwanted tracking, including updates announced in February 2021, which included improved detection for unknown AirTags, louder AirTags alerts, and more. "AirTag was designed to help people locate their personal belongings, not to track people or another person's property, and we condemn in the strongest possible terms any malicious use of our products," Apple said in a February 2021 press release. "Unwanted tracking has long been a societal problem, and we took this concern seriously in the design of AirTag," it continued.

Article Link: Apple Sued by Women After Exes Use AirTags to Stalk Them

 

[Powerguru]

Talk about misusing a good concept and technology. We humans are our own worst enemy. Good luck to Apple.

 

[BvizioN]

Shouldn't people sue knife companies also for these things being used to commit crimes? Using the same logic...!

 

[johnalan]

She should also sue the car/bus company that transported him to the store to buy those evil things.

 

[Maschil]

im all about holding companies accountable but unless their is some known issue, this women has no case

 

[WiiDSmoker]

Every tool can be used for good or for bad.

I SUE THE WORLD~!

 

[SanderEvers]

Did Apple plant those AirTags? No. Case closed. These women should sue their exes, not the company that made the tracker.

 

[Unami]

Sounds like a greedy scheme to earn some money. Based on this, I'm going to side with the exes.

 

[WiiDSmoker]

Did Apple plant those AirTags? No. Case closed. These women should sue their exes, not the company that made the tracker.

Just gonna go ahead and say it. Why aren’t they going after their ex that “supposedly” stalked them? If she were so afraid of her life she’d contact the police. Innocent until proven guilty. $eem$ fi$hy.

 

[GuruZac]

That’s like suing Bic because your handwriting sucks. Case dismissed.

 

[Leon Ze Professional]

Despite good intentions we humans are far to devious and know how to misuse any technology that lends itself to be misused.

 

[spazzcat]

This will go nowhere; there are hundreds of cheap GPS trackers on the market. This tech is nothing new.

 

[Rygaard]

well im suing Apple for making the airtag make a sound when it moves without me.
-that mad it possible for the person who stole my bike to remove it

 

[Shanghaichica]

It’s amazing, the way people have channelled all this negativity towards Apple. You would think that the AirTag was the first and only tracker on the market.

 

[himanshumodi]

100% greedy cash-grab of a law suit. If anyone's put a tracker on these women, it's so that they can stay a good distance away from them.

 

[BanjoDudeAhoy]

It’s amazing, the way people have channelled all this negativity towards Apple. You would think that the AirTag was the first and only tracker on the market.

My assumption is that because Apple are extremely valuable people are more likely to think that they’ll pay them a bunch of money to go away rather than actually go to court over things.

On using AirTags as described: why must people be like that?
Relationships break down, it hurts, it’s not nice - but stalking people? These dudes need to get some psychological help.

 

[smaffei]

Despite good intentions we humans are far to devious and know how to misuse any technology that lends itself to be misused.

Exactly. This is like suing Alexander Graham Bell because the phone was later used to make anonymous dirty phone calls. This will be tossed.

 

[BvizioN]

These women should sue their exes, not the company that made the tracker.

It is Apple's deep pockets they are after.

 

[Lihp8270]

Shouldn't people sue knife companies also for these things being used to commit crimes? Using the same logic...!

Not exactly the same logic.

The same logic would be.

Company creates a knife that is designed so that they cannot be used to stab people. Then somebody gets stabbed with one.

The product now didn’t work as intended.

 

[alexe]

Right, because no trackers existed before AirTags.

 

[RickDEGH]

That’s like suing Bic because your handwriting sucks. Case dismissed.

Heyyy thanks for pointing that out. I have a different handwriting each time I wake up. I know who’s responsible. 😄

 

[Lihp8270]

Sadly, Apple failed to see the nefarious side of things - I'm not blaming them but its unfortunate that no one thought of the implications prior to releasing the airtags. I think the overall the steps they undertook mitigate the stalking has helped.

Part of the issue is that they did see the nefarious side of things.

The fact they included protections indicated they knew it could be used for such purposes. The protections are inadequate.

This is not to say I agree. I have plenty of air tags, and I don’t think it’s right to blame apple (they’re doing more than any others). But I don’t think it’s totally clean cut.

 

[unregbaron]

I’m not expecting Apple to lose but it’s a positive if it brings this to public attention and how to stop it. Many many people will have no idea this happens.

 

[BvizioN]

Not exactly the same logic.

The same logic would be.

Company creates a knife that is designed so that they cannot be used to stab people. Then somebody gets stabbed with one.

The product now didn’t work as intended.

Every human made tool since the stone age can be misused, without any exception. There is no ifs and no buts. You do not design a Knife that can not be used to stab people same as you don't design a lighter that can not be used to light a forest or house on fire. You do not design a tracking device that can not be used to track people. The whole thing is so stupid.

 

[omihek]

Not exactly the same logic.

The same logic would be.

Company creates a knife that is designed so that they cannot be used to stab people. Then somebody gets stabbed with one.

The product now didn’t work as intended.

I mean if we're playing the logic game, we'd have to say it was a knife designed so that it cannot be used to stab people without their knowledge. Which I think all knives have that feature by default already.

The AirTags in this story seem to have worked exactly as intended, since the intention (at least of the anti-stalking features) is to not allow someone to be tracked without their knowledge, and these 2 women obviously know about being tracked, hence the lawsuit.