When AirTag launched, the PR messaging was that it couldn't be used for this purpose.
Woman accused of tracking boyfriend with Apple AirTag, killing him with car
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Re: Woman accused of tracking boyfriend with Apple AirTag, killing him with car
#32Re: Woman accused of tracking boyfriend with Apple AirTag, killing him with car
#33When AirTag launched, the PR messaging was that it couldn't be used for this purpose.
It’s harder to use AirTags for this than other existing trackers. The tag will eventually start beeping if it’s traveling away from the owner. If you have an iPhone, you’ll get notified that a random AirTag is traveling with you.
Re: Woman accused of tracking boyfriend with Apple AirTag, killing him with car
#34Honestly, I think the problem here is the girl is crazy, not that she found her boyfriend using an airtag.
Reminds me of the argument that the problem is mass shooters are crazy, not that you can legally buy AR-15s so easily.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think airtags have a primary use not connected to killing things?
I think this is a better argument against allowing people to have 2 ton motorized killing machines.
Re: Woman accused of tracking boyfriend with Apple AirTag, killing him with car
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't users have to opt in to Find Friends? There also feels like a huge difference between your personal device tracking you and that same device tracking anyone who happens to walk by. The dystopian aspect of AirTags is how they repurpose existing Apple devices to create a surveillance network.
Yeah, but the point is that if they lived together, there's a very good chance that she had the password to his phone, or had access to it when it was unlocked.
He could always temporarily disable location reporting, turn off his phone, or just not take it with him if he didn't want to be tracked during a certain time.
There's no equivalent option with AirTags, since they use ambient devices and can be carried without the bearer's knowledge. I understand what you're trying to argue, but I just don't see an equivalence here in terms of stalker enablement.
Re: Woman accused of tracking boyfriend with Apple AirTag, killing him with car
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
Reminds me of the argument that the problem is mass shooters are crazy, not that you can legally buy AR-15s so easily.
FYI most mass shooters use handguns, not rifles.
That's because a mass shooting is often defined as 3+ victims of gun violence in one incident. If you heard "Mass shooting in Times Square" most people wouldn't assume "three people shot in restaurant bathroom with handgun".
Re: Woman accused of tracking boyfriend with Apple AirTag, killing him with car
#37Whenever some AirTag news come up, I see the argument that GPS trackers had existed for a while, and they could be purchased readily through AliExpress. The argument implies that additional threat posed by the prevalence of AirTag is non-existent as the threat model had existed before. This argument misses the point that to a non-technically-minded consumer, AirTag made stalking significantly easier not only on a tec…
To be honest, I was always on the “AirTags are harmless” side until reading your perspective. You are probably right that making the UX so simple and coming from a trusted brand will enable many more people to misuse the technology. Ultimately, I think it comes down to the question: is this harmful enough that we should regulate it? Answering that involves weighing the benefits against the harms. AirTags have plenty…
Also there's a matter of the resources required.
A traditional tracker needs to provide its own location source and data connection.
Airtags recruit everyone with a smartphone to do the tracking without informed consent.
Re: Woman accused of tracking boyfriend with Apple AirTag, killing him with car
#38Honestly, I think the problem here is the girl is crazy, not that she found her boyfriend using an airtag.
Reminds me of the argument that the problem is mass shooters are crazy, not that you can legally buy AR-15s so easily.
Which is an argument many people make and one you are not refuting,
Re: Woman accused of tracking boyfriend with Apple AirTag, killing him with car
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
FYI most mass shooters use handguns, not rifles.
That's because a mass shooting is often defined as 3+ victims of gun violence in one incident. If you heard "Mass shooting in Times Square" most people wouldn't assume "three people shot in restaurant bathroom with handgun".
I can't vouch for most people but I'd have thought it's been in the news enough that that definition was well known.
Re: Woman accused of tracking boyfriend with Apple AirTag, killing him with car
#40Honestly, I think the problem here is the girl is crazy, not that she found her boyfriend using an airtag.
Reminds me of the argument that the problem is mass shooters are crazy, not that you can legally buy AR-15s so easily.
We need to be doing more to control car usage and ownership. It should be made extremely difficult to get your car to a place where people are walking to be able to run them over. There should always be bollards or some other physical structure when physical proximity between cars and people is unavoidable.