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Interesting how Apple is so resistant to aiding law enforcement, except when the viability of an entire product is on the line.
You must realize that when law enforcement asks for the info, they have a warrant, and Apple would have to either fight it in court or comply.
 
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That’s because it works so well thanks to the large network of Apple phones and the low cost to purchase.

Let’s not kid ourselves this is an Apple problem.

Maybe you don’t care for the victims but I do.
This is not an Apple problem, in fact, I don't see them losing this because out of all products on the market you can track people with, Apple actually has built-in protection to help prevent stalking.
 
if the technology was good enough it would mitigate this issue by design

Well the tracker has to be tied to an apple id, which has to be tied to at least one other device for it to work. So they tell you right up front that the trackers are being tracked and that they will happily tell police all about you if someone alleges abuse. They’ve also continued to update them to the point that they are less useful for tracking, solely over safety concerns. They have security experts trying to strike the right balance. What else are they supposed to do?

People that will abuse this will also buy a cheap Android phone on a burner plan and just hide that somewhere and track it with the built in Android tracking network.
 
Unfortunately, I think there’s a lot of truth in this.

Class action lawsuits are filed against small businesses too but the ones that typically get the most attention involve products that have a larger owner/user base and those types of products tend to be offered by larger, wealthier companies.
 
But, but, but, what if the ex kidnaps her and ties her up with a rope, will she sue the rope manufacturer? Or what if he stabs her with a fork, will she sue the fork manufacturer? Or if she slips on a banana peel that he throws on her porch, will she sue the banana plantation?

The notion of holding manufactures and/or sellers of products and services accountable for the deliberate and intentional misuse of said products or services by unrelated third parties is absurd and incompatible with a free, just, and prosperous society.

This is nothing more than ambulance chasing shysters looking for a payday by shaking down the deepest pockets they can point a finger at.

If the story is truly as she claims, her recourse is to get a restraining order against the ex and call the police if he violates it. She could also report the abuse of the AirTag to Apple and request that they take action in accordance with their policy against misuse of their product by the ex.
The fact that she’s looking for a big payday makes me think this situation isn’t what she claims. I doubt the guy is so much an ex as he is her accomplice in a scheme to shake down a financially juicy target. Just more lawfare for fun & profit.
 
The issue is the auto-sharing that the Airtag does. I don't believe Tile automatically connects to other devices so you can track something without being near it.

I'm not saying I agree with a lawsuit, but we've seen Apple scramble to make updates to increase security with this since it was released.
That is literally how Tile and other such trackers operate.
 
You must realize that when law enforcement asks for the info, they have a warrant, and Apple would have to either fight it in court or comply.

"Disagreements" between Apple (and tech companies in general) and law enforcement have been going on for years.

 
Although she cannot locate the ‌AirTags‌, she receives daily alerts from Apple and chimes from the ‌AirTags‌ that confirm that the ‌AirTags‌ are still there.

Umm what? She can hear them and receive alerts but cannot locate them???
I guarantee I can slip an AirTag in your vehicle that you can hear every day you drive and you will not be able to find it to remove it.
 
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These kinds of lawsuits are ridiculous and should be thrown out immediately. People who raise lawsuits like this are scum.
 
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I am entering this in the DAS category. What is next, someone texting while they are driving, get in a wreck and blame it on the cell phone company? What ever happened to personal responsibility?
Yes but Apple and other phone makers have also implemented features to prevent texting while driving. If they can be proactive and help users, they are obligated to do so providing it does not degrade product usability nor profits.
 
GPS trackers are cheaper and report location all the time.
GPS trackers require subscriptions to report all the time. This connects the device to its user/abuser. We work with law enforcement (we have developed a personal AirTag detector) who tell us that drug and illegal arms dealers now prefer AirTags over GPS trackers because the data is encrypted and protected by Apple and AirTags last 1 year compared to a few days/weeks for GPS trackers. Without a legal warrant, Apple will not reveal the illegal user to authorities.
 
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So we’re going to punish companies rather than the disgusting criminals? Sounds about right California.
Punish the company, or just stop them selling a product in its current form. I mean, what's the alternative? Tell the stalking victims to suck it up because other people keep losing their stuff if they can't tag it?
 
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Explain to me how Apple is liable for this, but car makers are not liable for making a giant death machine when someone gets run over?
Car makers are liable all the time. That's why they have so many recalls and safety regulations. Apple has no control over their users but they have complete control over their software. They are actively looking into doing more to solve this problem because they know they can.
 
Are they suing Colt or the person that fired the Colt after a shooting?

Sue the stalker, not the manufacturer of the tracker.
But I guess there's more money to get from Apple than the criminal that's doing the stalking
 
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