Apple sued by two women for ‘stalking’ them through their AirTag Devices
Apple has being sued by two women who claim that their former partners exploited the firm’s AirTag devices to follow their locations, perhaps putting their safety at risk, and that the company disregarded warnings from advocacy organizations and media reports.
For those of you new to these gadgets, starting at $29, AirTags are 1-1/4 inches (3.2 cm) in diameter, and intended to be slipped into or attached to keys, wallets, backpacks and other items so people can find them when they are lost.
The two women are suing both on their own behalf and on behalf of others who assert that AirTags led to their being followed. On Monday, Lauren Hughes and Jane Doe filed a class action complaint in federal court in San Francisco, claiming that since the company released what it referred to as the stalker-proof gadget in April 2021, Apple has failed to safeguard consumers from unwanted trafficking using AirTag.
One of the ladies said that her ex-boyfriend had reportedly inserted an AirTag, a tiny monitoring device about the size of a quarter and used to assist find missing objects, into the tire well of her automobile. A sharpie marker was reportedly used to color the gadget, and to conceal it, it was wrapped up in a plastic baggy.
The story originally picked up by Reuters describes AirTags as the “the weapon of choice of stalkers and abusers,” in the words of the two women. These gadgets, according to their claims, have been connected to the killings of women from Ohio and Indiana this year.
Owners of iOS or Android-based devices in the United States who were monitored by AirTag or are in danger of stalking as a result of Apple’s claimed carelessness are suing for undisclosed damages.
