Apple’s AirTag Faces Legal Battle As It Becomes Stalker’s Choice Of Weapon: What We Know

Last Updated: March 18, 2024, 11:38 IST

California, USA

Apple launched the AirTags with a clear focus on helping people find their lost or misplaced items like bags, AirPods and more. But the company clearly didn’t think about the possible stalking nature of the AirTags, which has created a completely different issue for Apple, which now faces a legal battle over the misuse of AirTags by stalkers.

Apple has reportedly tried to get the lawsuit dismissed in the US but those prayers have failed, and now Apple faces a legal battle which accuses the company of launching a cheap product that has become a choice of weapon for stalkers and Apple hasn’t done enough to protect customers from some of these functions.

The lawsuit against the AirTags suggests Apple has not focused on the safety designs of the product, which does not offer protection to customers if and when the product (AirTags) is misused. AirTags aren’t the first product in the market that offer tracking features but the lawsuit is directly aimed at Apple, which has tried to do its best to secure the AirTags when used for stalking to some measure.

The biggest problem with the AirTags that the lawsuit hints at is that stalkers can pick up the device for as low as $29 (Rs 2,500 approx) which makes it easy to buy and available to anyone.

Having said that, Apple has tried to fix the stalking issue with an iOS update and integrate it with the Find My network that looks to thwart any possible stalking attempts using the AirTags. But the overall engineering of the device doesn’t let it make heavy tweaks to the product, which is essentially meant for purposes that have clearly not come to Apple’s thought process and frankly, it can’t be made liable for third-party acts.