this post was submitted on 14 Oct 2023
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GPS and VHF trackers have been used to stalk people for way longer than AirTags and have zero safeguarding features. And Tile, at least last time I used one, had zero safeguarding features and are pretty just exactly the same product as AirTags.
This all seems a bit frivolous. Are gun makers responsible when their products are misused to murder? Or knife makers?
Seems funny that Apple are the ones getting sued and not the tools of destruction used to end life. It’s like suing the car manufacturer of the car the murderer used to get to the scene.
Here's the thing about all this. Yes, tech existed before airtags. But apple made the tech incredibly accurate, incredibly cheap, and marketed the hell out of it.
On top of that, the protection features have been massively lacking, especially around people who do not use iPhones.When they first came out, a few companies did tests on their employees around air tags. They would slip air tags into their car. The end result was that some people noticed, especially iPhone users. Many did not.
Undoubtedly, there are people dead today who would be alive if airtags didn't exist or if apple had done more.
And yes, we do hold companies up to some level of responsibility. Of course we do.
An edit to say I'm disheartened that so many people are willing to say it's okay, if apple do this. The main complaint is that other tiny companies also make GPS trackers so why should apple be punished for making something that has lead to abuse and death.
We should be collectively holding major corporations to task, not standing up for corporations right to cause harm. Even if they make your favourite phone.
Yeah, this type of tech is way more accessible than it was before, which isn't the problem. It's that Apple has not done enough to provide safety to users from airtags if they aren't using an Apple product. This isn't one of those techs that should be gated behind a walled garden because of the potential consequences to unsuspecting targets.
Apple needs to break from their usual walled garden approach when it comes to their tracking technology.
Ok…and what about the trackers you can buy on Amazon for less than $20 that don’t tell anyone that they’re tracking except the stalker? Do those next. Explain how Apple is at fault for that. I’m almost there.
Top tip, if you start a discussion point with "what about", you should check it for whatsboutisms that aren't helpful to the discussion.
In this case those aren't relevant, those products did not have a blisteringly widescale advertising and marketing budget around them advertising how you can use the greatest tracking network ever created by the world's top engineers so you can track anything you want
You do realise that something being widespread doesn’t really matter here.
If a stalker wants to stalk people then they’re going to find the tech to do it, whether that be an Amazon tracker or an AirPod.
Do you actually believe that since Apple released AirTags that regular people thought yes I can finally stalk people now.
I can’t work out if your take is just based on naivety or just bashing Apple because it’s in vogue to do that.
There are plenty of things that Apple are actually responsible for that you can call them out on. You know like using cheap labour at Foxconn, their greenwashing of their reputation, there stranglehold on their OS with terms of targeted ads, their pricing, etc. AirTags is such a none issue that you take away from the actual shitty stuff they do.
That’s from someone who owns an iPhone and used to work for them. Give it some thought and let me know your thoughts.
AirTags notify people that they’re in the vicinity. That same marketing campaign also shared that iPhones tell you and that there’s an app for Android to detect them. You can’t have your cake and get to eat it too.
Would the problem be solvable by saying Google needs to break from their approach (do nothing, in this case), and work with Apple to incorporate Apple’s tech into Android by default?
Just trying to think through the finger pointing that happens as we reel in tech.
Google already did this.
However, the onus to mitigate problems created by one company shouldn't be their on competitors.
Apple launched AirTags alone, leveraging its massive Find My network, in order to have an immense advantage in the market, and this helped Apple rake in millions and millions of dollars.
It could have coordinated with Google even before the AirTag launch, but this would have probably resulted in missing out on millions in profits. So Apple chose profits over mitigating ethical and moral concerns, and only fixed problems a long time after it started selling the product to customers.
You’re making some big assumptions. That’s ok, though.
I appreciate the link.
I can sleep knowing Android friends have built-in safety measures, just as I do on an iPhone.