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Abstract: 

Despite the large number of conveniences associated with carrying a cell phone, doing so can also create significant dangers for victims of domestic violence, stalking, and other interpersonal crimes. In this illuminating article, Kaofeng Lee and Erica Olsen provide readers with a basic education on the significant risks that DV and stalking victims face due to increasingly sophisticated cell phone and other technological applications. Especially with the near-universal use of GPS and other built-in tracking devices, as it turns out, the same technologies that can be used for safety purposes are also being widely exploited by perpetrators to enhance their abilities to harass and stalk their victims. The authors conclude with recommendations for counteracting the exploitative use of this ubiquitous technology.

Keywords: Stalking; GPS; cellphone spyware; social location apps; Location Privacy Protection Act of 2012 (S. 1223)

Affiliations:  1: National Network to End Domestic Violence; 2: National Network to End Domestic Violence.