Apple faces class action lawsuit for enabling harassers |

apple A wave of harassers have been sued over its products Apple tag. This month, more than three dozen victims were terrorized by stalkers Apple Airtags joined a class action lawsuit filed in a California court last December apple.

They allege in an amended complaint that, in part, negligence appleloss Airtag have become “one of the most dangerous and terrifying technologies used by stalkers” because they can be used easily, cheaply and covertly to determine “real-time location information to track victims”.

Since the suit was initially filed in 2022, the plaintiffs allege there has been an “explosion of reports” showing that Airtag Often used for harassment, with increased incidents of harassment Airtag More than 150 police reports internationally and in the US as of April 2022.

Most recently, there were 19 incidents of harassment Airtag In a single US metropolitan area, Tulsa, Oklahoma, the complaint said.

This apparent increase is alarming, the plaintiffs say, because apple Did not do enough to mitigate the damage, and harassed with Airtag May cause financial loss. Victims are forced to spend a fortune hiring mechanics to dismantle their cars Airtag Or they have to move away from home repeatedly.

Harassment with Airtag It can also end in violence, including murder, plaintiffs allege, and the problem is probably bigger than anyone realizes, because riots are historically underreported.

Many plaintiffs said they did not know Airtag When they discover they are being used Airtag Hidden to monitor their movements.

Plaintiff wants apple Responsible for raising awareness of how bullies use AirtagNot only to inform people at risk of harassment, but also to ensure law enforcement is alerted.

Plaintiffs say this apple Failing to give police information that prevents them from accessing protective orders and filing criminal charges.

Complaints offer other remedies apple can provide, such as improving the consistency of security precautions Airtagwhich the plaintiffs claim is only occasionally present iPhoneso that users are always aware when a Airtag It is close and at a dangerous distance.

“apple “You find yourself in the position of reacting to the harms your product has exposed, rather than prophylactically preventing them,” the complaint states.

National Network to End Domestic Violence technology expert Corbin Street’s threat model apple Only strangers seem to consider the risks of use Airtag For unwanted harassment, not for abusive partners.

This is a problem, since advocacy groups such as the federally funded Bullying Prevention, Awareness and Resource Center (PDF) report that “most victims of bullying are bullied by someone they know” and “are most likely to approach intimate partners, threatening their victims and harm.”

“I hope so apple Keep your learning cap on and work to solve that piece of the puzzle,” says Street.

Through: Fudzilla

Editor’s note: I already knew that apple, which is why they’ve disabled tracking in the Friends app, even though you need the person you’re tracking to give you permission. I think there might be a solution, what I don’t understand is how they didn’t think this was going to happen.