Private investigators in Wisconsin are calling for changes in a proposed new law that would prevent them from using GPS devices to gather information for their clients.
The bill would make it a misdemeanor to place a GPS device on someone’s car without the owner’s knowledge. It includes exceptions for parents who want to track the whereabouts of their minor children and for police who must get a court order to track a criminal suspect.
But the vice president of the Wisconsin Association of Licensed Private Investigators, Thomas Fischer said his members should also be exempted.
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“Basically you’ve got 700 small businesses throughout the United States, a lot of them are in the surveillance business themselves,” said Fischer. “This would basically put them out of business or make it a lot more expensive for them to do surveillance. ”
The author of the bill says the goal is to prevent stalking by domestic violence abusers who use GPS to harass and potentially harm their victims.
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