Two women are suing Apple in federal court over the tech company’s AirTag devices that they say have allowed former romantic partners to stalk them.
The plaintiffs said they are filing their class-action lawsuit on behalf of women “who have been and who are at risk of stalking via this dangerous product,” according to CNN. They’re asking the court to find Apple guilty of negligence, product liability and violating privacy rights.
The AirTag is a small, Bluetooth-enabled device released last year that was designed to help people locate missing items such as their keys, wallets or laptops.
But one of the women, identified as Lauren Hughes from Texas, claims in the lawsuit that an ex-boyfriend placed an AirTag in one of the wheel wells of her car’s back tires. The man is accused of coloring the device with a Sharpie and tying it in a plastic bag to disguise it so he could track her.
The other woman, who was only identified as Jane Doe from New York, claimed that her ex-husband put an AirTag in their child’s backpack. She removed the device and was attempting to disable it, but soon found another AirTag in its place.
“What separates the AirTag from any competitor product is its unparalleled accuracy, ease of use (it fits seamlessly into Apple’s existing suite of products), and affordability,” the lawsuit says, according to NPR. “With a price point of just $29, it has become the weapon of choice of stalkers and abusers.”
Apple released a safety guide for AirTags earlier this year that included an app that would let you know if there was an AirTag revealing your location, according to USA Today.
There have been instances of the tracking device leading to deadly outcomes.
An Indiana woman was accused of running over and killing her boyfriend in June after using an AirTag to track him over a suspected affair.
The women are seeking unspecified damages in their lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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