Precedent: Criminalizing Stalkerware Supply

A federal guilty plea against the founder of pcTattletale signals that U.S. law enforcement will pursue not only individual misuse but also the commercial supply chain—developers, advertisers and sellers—behind consumer stalkerware. The case (Bryan Fleming, HSI investigation begun 2021) is the first successful U.S. federal prosecution of a stalkerware operator in over a decade and may expand liability to advertising and sales channels that facilitate covert surveillance. — If treated as precedent, prosecutors and regulators can more readily target the industry that builds, markets, and monetizes covert surveillance tools, driving changes in platform ad policies, hosting practices, and privacy law enforcement.