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A 4542

Makes it fourth degree crime to engage in certain tracking and location activities.

2026-2027 Regular Session Introduced by Vicky Flynn and 3 co-sponsors

Establishes a new fourth-degree crime for knowingly using electronic tracking devices or apps to track someone to stalk or harass, with defined exemptions and consent rules.

Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading
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Bill Summary · A 4542

Summary of Assembly Bill No. 4542 (Session 222) – New Jersey

Purpose and intent

  • Establishes a fourth-degree crime for knowingly installing, placing, or causing to be installed or placed an electronic tracking device or tracking application to track or determine the location of another person, in order to initiate or facilitate an unlawful act (e.g., stalking or harassment).

Key provisions and changes

  • Criminal offense

    • Creates a new fourth-degree crime. Penalties typically include up to 18 months in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

  • Definitions

    • Electronic tracking device: Any device designed or intended to be used to track the location or movement of a person, revealed through transmission of electronic signals.
    • Tracking application: Software on a computer or mobile device used to surreptitiously track and transmit to another person the movement or location of the device.

  • Permissive inference for unlawful intent

    • If a tracking device or application is used to surveil another person, a jury may infer that the user intended to initiate or facilitate an unlawful act (such as stalking or harassment under existing New Jersey law).

  • Exemptions

    • State and local government entities, and equipment owned, leased, or operated by those entities, are exempt from the criminal provisions.

  • Permissible (lawful) uses

    • Parents or guardians tracking a minor child.
    • Tracking a person at risk due to physical or mental health conditions.
    • Tracking personal property during a lawful business transaction where the property is temporarily in the possession or control of a third party.
    • Collecting consumer location data as part of a lawful business practice, provided tracking is disclosed in a terms-of-use or privacy policy to the consumer.
    • Employers tracking an employee or a vehicle used by an employee in the course of employment, when not prohibited by law or regulation.

  • Employment notice and compliance

    • If an employer fails to provide required written notice to use a tracking device in a vehicle (per P.L.2021, c.449) or otherwise fails to comply with applicable laws/regulations, such failure would be treated as a violation of the applicable law or regulation, not as a separate crime under this bill.

  • Consent-based tracking

    • Tracking is lawful if the person being tracked has given consent:
    • For electronic tracking devices: consent must be written.
    • For tracking applications: consent must be obtained by opting in or affirmative acceptance.

  • Consent revocation considerations

    • Consent is presumed revoked in certain domestic or family law contexts:
    • If spouses, civil union partners, or domestic partners where one filed for divorce, dissolution, or termination.
    • If either party filed for a temporary or final restraining order under the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act.

Who would be affected

  • Potentially criminalizes certain tracking acts by private individuals, employers, or others when used to initiate or facilitate unlawful activities.
  • Specifies permissible and lawful exceptions (e.g., guardians tracking minors, health-risk monitoring, employer practices with notice, consumer data practices with disclosures).
  • Exempts government entities and their equipment from the substantive tracking-crime provisions.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Introduced: March 10, 2026
  • Committee actions:
    • March 10: Referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee
    • June 1, 2026: Reported out of Assembly Judiciary Committee
    • June 8, 2026: Reported out of Assembly Committee with second-reading status (and referred to Assembly Appropriations Committee)
  • Effective date: Not specified in the text provided; typical enactment would follow passage and potential future regulatory effective date, to be determined by the bill as it progresses.

Remarks

  • The bill employs a crime-based approach to deter surreptitious tracking and location surveillance. It balances by including explicit exemptions for safeguarding roles (parents, guardians, health-related monitoring), business practices with disclosure, and consent mechanisms.
  • A permissive inference helps juries consider intent behind use of tracking tools in prosecutions for stalking or harassment.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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