Erin Wadley

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-23-2024

Keywords

GPS, internet of things, IoT, domestic abuse, tracking

Abstract

The expanding availability of GPS and internet of things (IoT) devices has equipped abusers with more tools to intensify and broaden the scope of domestic abuse tactics, “threatening the progress advocates have made in the past thirty years and creating novel dangers for survivors.” These devices “allow abusers to overcome geographic and spatial boundaries that would have otherwise prevented them from monitoring, controlling, harassing, and threatening survivors.” Thus, this Comment strongly urges the Arkansas State Legislature to enact a law to protect victims, provide justice, and preventatively deter the tracking of private citizens through GPS tracking while being broad enough to encompass future advances of IoT device tracking and cyberstalking. The Arkansas State Legislature should consider the following: preventing abusers from taking advantage of current and future technology to harm victims, including smart-home capabilities; implementing educational initiatives to educate legislators and the community about the safety risks of those who abuse technology; other areas of cyberstalking such as revenge porn; and lastly, exceptions for legal uses of GPS devices. Finally, while a federal approach is worth evaluating , this Comment will solely focus on Arkansas, because it does not have legislation preventing this conduct.

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