AirTag on a keychain.
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An attempted class action against Apple is allowed to proceed after the plaintiffs convinced a judge that negligence issues exist regarding the AirTags tracker.
The lawsuit by dozens of people in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, originally filed in December 2022 and amended in October 2023 after an “explosive growth in the number of messages”, became a problem for Apple.
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria ruled Friday that some of the claims in the lawsuit are sufficiently substantiated for it to proceed. and product liability were asserted, Bloomberg reported, but the other claims were thrown out by a judge.
There are three remaining claims in the lawsuit, alleging that the plaintiffs were harmed by “substantial” problems with the AirTag's security features. which became known when they were persecuted. Due to poor implementation of security measures, AirTag “has become the weapon of choice for stalkers and attackers,” the complaint says, despite Apple's attempts to improve them after launch.
Apple's protections, including notifying people who could be tracked and sounding alarms when separated from a user for an extended period of time, are considered “grossly inadequate” in the complaint. Moreover, there was an apparent “gross imbalance” between the protection that Apple device users received and the protection that Android users received.
Apple, meanwhile, said in court that it included “industry-first” security measures in the AirTag design. Apple also insisted that it should not be held responsible for cases of AirTag misuse.
In his ruling, Judge Chhabria said that while Apple may well be clear because California law does not require the company to take additional steps to limit stalkers' ability to use AirTag, “that determination cannot be made at this early date.” stages.”
Most of the claims were “inadequately stated,” the judge wrote, but the negligence and product liability claims still stood. “It’s a close question,” the judge noted.
