Apple class action claims AirTag can be maliciously used to stalk victims

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Apple AirTag stalking class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Lauren Hughes and Jane Doe filed a class action lawsuit against Apple Inc. 
• Why: Hughes and Doe claim Apple ignored advocates by releasing AirTag devices to the public that they argue have been used by stalkers and abusers to track victims. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court. 

Apple puts the safety of consumers at risk with its AirTag tracking device, which has become the “weapon of choice” for abusers and stalkers, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

Plaintiffs Lauren Hughes and Jane Doe claim Apple ignored pushback from advocates and technologists who urged it to rethink releasing its AirTag product and consider its “inevitable use in stalking.” 

Apple, instead of listening to advocates, “heedlessly forged ahead, dismissing concerns and pointing to mitigation features that it claimed rendered the devices ‘stalker proof,’” the Apple class action states.

The concerns turned out to be “well founded,” according to Hughes and Doe, who claim there were immediate reports of stalkers using the devices to track the whereabouts of their victims after the AirTag’s release. 

“The consequences have been as severe as possible: at least two reported murders have occurred in which the murderer used an AirTag to track the victim,” the Apple class action states. 

Apple class action alleges AirTag devices allow tracking without consent

Hughes and Doe want to represent classes of iOS and Android device owners, along with multistate and NewYork subclasses of consumers, who were tracked with an Apple AirTag without consent. 

They accuse Apple of unjust enrichment, negligence, negligence per se, intrusion upon seclusion and violations of New York General Business Law and California’s Constitutional Right to Privacy, among other things. 

Hughes and Doe demand a jury trial and request injunctive and declaratory relief along with an award of actual, nominal, statutory and/or punitive damages for themselves and all class members. 

In other Apple privacy news, a consumer filed a separate class action lawsuit was filed against Apple last month, arguing the company illegally records the confidential activity of its mobile app users for profit. 

What do you think of the Apple AirTag’s ability to track people without their consent? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Gillian L. Wade, Sara D. Avila and Marc A. Castaneda of Milstein Jackson Fairchild & Wade LLP; Edwin J. Kilpela Jr., Elizabeth Pollock-Avery and Kenneth A. Held of Lynch Carpenter LLP; and David Slade, Brandon Haubert and Jessica Hall of wh LAW. 

The Apple AirTag stalking class action lawsuit is Hughes, et al. v. Apple Inc., Case No. 3:22-cv-07668, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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