COLUMBUS — A push to help stop criminals from pulling off a growing and disturbing trend is heading to the governor’s desk.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Senate Bill 100 would make stalking someone with an Apple AirTag or other Bluetooth tracking devices a crime. On Wednesday, the Ohio Senate approved changes the Ohio House of Representatives made to the bill on Tuesday.
If signed by Governor Mike DeWine, the bill would make this kind of tracking a misdemeanor. As reported on News Center 7 at 5:30, the bill also includes aggravating factors that make it a felony.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Lawmaker looks to make flag planting at Ohio Stadium a felony in wake of OSU-Michigan brawl
- Coroner IDs 20-year-old killed in crash near WPAFB; 2 others seriously hurt
- 3 formally charged after man shows up at hospital with gunshot wound
News Center 7′s I-Team first reported on the disturbing trend of predators using tracking devices like Apple AirTags to stalk their prey back in 2022.
The devices are about the size of a quarter and are easy to slip into a wallet or snap onto your keys, purse, or backpack.
The I-Team previously found reports of police all over the country saying some people are using the devices for the wrong reasons, including a case at Wittenberg University.
A Wittenberg University police report and dispatch records obtained by the I-Team show an 18-year-old freshman reported her iPhone sent her an alert that said, “Unknown Accessory Detected - the item has been moving with you for a while. The owner can see its location.”
In a call to dispatchers, the woman said, “There’s these things called Apple AirTags that someone can stick on things. And we found one detected ... And we can’t find it on the car.”
She told campus police the notification on her phone showed her the device had tracked her from John Glenn Columbus International Airport, where she said she had just picked up a friend, all the way back to campus in Springfield -- a 50-mile drive.
A Wittenberg University Police Department incident report obtained by the I-Team through a public records request read, “Officers attempted to use a Bluetooth locater app unsuccessfully. The exterior of the vehicle was searched and nothing was found.”
Laws against this kind of tracking are already in place in at least 17 other states.
[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
