3News Investigates: Renewed efforts by Ohio lawmakers to prohibit AirTag stalking

CLEVELAND — Two new bills targeting unwanted electronic tracking with devices like Apple AirTags were introduced this past week in the Ohio General Assembly after similar legislation expired at the end of the last legislative session.

The bills are a direct result of advocacy by WKYC Studios, after a 3News Investigates report uncovered loopholes in Ohio law that made such stalking perfectly legal. A WKYC analysis also found 19 states with specific laws addressing electronic tracking without consent, but not Ohio.

"When we first heard about this, all I could think of was [this is] one more opportunity for someone to victimize," State Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) said of the troubling revelations brought by our stories.

Antonio and fellow state Sen. Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville) are both sponsoring Senate Bill 100, which would "generally prohibit a person from knowingly installing a tracking device or application on another person's property without the other person's consent or failing to remove or ensure removal of such a device or application from another person's property if the other person gave consent and subsequently revokes it."

"Frankly, [we were] encouraged by your reports and hearing that this was an issue," Antonio told 3News. "It got a little bit of traction last year, but it was so late in the session."

Also last week, state Rep. Tom Patton (R-Strongsville) unveiled House Bill 91, which includes nearly identical language to SB 100. Both bills would make unwanted electronic tracking a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in jail.

"The genesis of House Bill 91 was actually brought forward by you," Patton admitted to me. "Technology is wonderful, but when it can turn around and bite you, we've got to see if we can't come up with enough punishment to make people think twice before they do it."
Both HB 91 and SB 100 contain exceptions for law enforcement, for parents keeping up with their kids, and for caregivers. The bills now head to committee, and they have the support of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.