Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) says he plans to reintroduce a bill that would ban stalking apps.
That came as ABC's Good Morning America ran a story Tuesday (Nov. 4) about those apps, a clip from which Franken included on his Web site.
When he was still chairman of the Senate Judiciary Privacy Subcommittee, Franken tried to crack down on the apps after hearing about survivors of domestic violence who had been tracked via the apps.
“A majority of Americans have smartphones now,” said Franken in a statement. “Disturbingly, a of them have become victims of cyberstalking. My commonsense bill will help a whole range of people—including survivors of domestic violence—and it would finally outlaw unconscionable GPS stalking apps that allow abusers to secretly track their victims. I’m going to be reintroducing my bill in the near future, and will be working hard to make it law.”
His office said the near future means the next few days.
Franken last introduced the bill in March 2014.
That bill would have required companies to get consumer's permission before collecting location data off their phones, tablets, or Garmins, and would also require permission before sharing that data with third parties.
