Kendall County Times

State Rep. Keith Wheeler (R-Oswego) is pushing legislation aimed at ending electronic stalking.

House Bill 4726 seeks to establish as illegal electronic monitoring in any instance where someone knowingly installs, conceals or otherwise places an electronic tracking software or spyware on an electronic communication device or on a person or the person’s belongings without the consent of all owners for the purpose of monitoring the user of the software.

“Criminals and perpetrators are always adapting to new technology as a means to prey on victims, I have introduced new legislation to make it a crime to use any form of what’s known as stalkerware,” Wheeler posted on Facebook. Wheeler said the tools often used run hidden in the background, and are hard to detect, but easy to buy and install. They allow the abuser the chance to remotely monitor the whole device for everything from web searches, geolocation, text messages, photos and voice calls.

“Emerging technologies pose a seemingly endless range of new threats to individual privacy and safety,” Wheeler posted on his website. “News accounts of Apple Air Tags being used to track unwitting victims has raised increased concerns about electronic monitoring. As a career IT professional, I am taking the lead on proposing legislation to meet this challenge. The time to update our laws to match up with threats posed by new technology is now.”

With HB 4726 passed into law, first-time offenders would face a sentence of up to three years and a fine of up to $25,000. A second or subsequent conviction would carry a sentence of 5 to 10 years in prison and fine of up to $25,000.

Wheeler said he plans to reach out to both Democratic and Republican lawmakers open to joining him as sponsors of the bill. He said he plans to request that his bill be scheduled for a hearing in the House Judiciary – Criminal Committee at the earliest possible date. House members were scheduled to reconvene in Springfield on Feb. 1.

In 2016, Republican House members proposed similar legislation that never gained a hearing or was called for a full vote.

According to StalkingAwareness.org, up to 7.5 million people are stalking victims each year, with some of the victim reporting that their stalkers used GPS, cameras, or video devices to monitor them.