Gov. DeSantis approves 5-year prison sentences for tech-assisted stalkers

Steep penalties are coming to Sunshine State stalkers who use mobile apps and small, Bluetooth-enabled devices like AirTags to track their victims.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation (SB 758) to make installing or placing a tracking device or app on another person’s property without their consent a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.

Doing so today is a second-degree misdemeanor carrying a maximum 60-day jail stint.

The change goes into effect Oct. 1.

SB 758, sponsored by Fort Myers Republican Sen. Jonathan Martin, received sweeping, bipartisan support in both chambers of the Legislature this year. It passed 37-0 in the Senate and 113-0 in the House, where Palm City Republican Rep. Toby Overdorf carried a similar companion measure.

Martin and Overdorf filed their legislation last year as the number of plaintiffs suing Apple for failing to prevent stalkers from abusing its popular and relatively cheap AirTag product rose to 38. Last month, a Judge denied Apple’s attempt to dismiss the class-action lawsuit.

AirTags debuted in 2021 and cost $29 apiece. They are the size of a half-dollar coin and offer “unparalleled accuracy, ease of use, and affordability,” Apple said. In many cases, they require no installation.

Comparable products in the market include Tile, Chipolo, Cube and Samsung’s SmartTag.

Apple marketed AirTags as handy devices to find personal belongings like car keys, using the locational service of an iPhone or digital device, not GPS, for tracking. All those attributes have made them the “weapon of choice of stalkers and abusers,” the 41-page complaint filed Dec. 5 in California says.

The filing cites at least two murders in which the culprit used an AirTag to follow their victims.

In 2022, a police officer in Miami-Dade County was charged with using an AirTag to stalk his ex-girlfriend.

Apple announced plans in May 2023 to team up with Google to thwart unwanted tracking.