Pennsylvania might pass a law targeting AirTag tracking

AirTag Setup
AirTag Setup (Image credit: Joe Keller / iMore)

What you need to know

  • Pennsylvania has announced a bill that would protect people from AirTag tracking.
  • The bill was revealed by Representative John Galloway.
  • It is currently seeking cosponsors.

Pennsylvania might pass a law that targets Apple's AirTag item tracker.

In an announcement on the Pennsylvania House website (spotted by 9to5Mac), Representative John Galloway, a Democrat from Bucks County, revealed a new piece of legislation that would make it illegal for anyone to use an AirTag to track anything outside of their personal items.

The bill, which aims to stop people from using item trackers to stalk people and things, will "prohibit someone from tracking one's location or their belongings without consent."

"Since Apple AirTags were introduced in April 2021, I have seen many articles about predators placing AirTags onto victims' vehicles, purses and even coat pockets to track their location," said Galloway, D-Bucks. "The AirTag's precision finding tool should only be used to locate the owner's property, such as keys, wallet, or bookbag, as was the original intention of the product. My legislation would protect Pennsylvanians by making sure that this unwarranted act is addressed by updating our Crimes Code to prohibit someone from tracking one's location or their belongings without consent."

The announcement says that the bill is currently circulating with members of the Pennsylvania House seeking for cosponsors. If passed, Pennsylvania would become the first state in the United States to have a law focused on something like AirTag.

Apple's AirTag has had mixed results since its launch. While the item tracker does exactly what it advertises to help you keep track of your belongings, there are also tons of stories where people misuse the tracker for nefarious purposes.

Joe Wituschek
Contributor

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.