Adjusting to shared custody is a challenge for most parents in Maryland. They don’t like dividing their time with their children or needing to constantly interact with each other. That being said, most couples eventually find ways to cooperatively meet the needs of their children and share parental rights and responsibilities.
Others have ongoing disputes until their children become adults. Occasionally, one spouse consistently oversteps the boundaries of the other or attempts to control what happens during the other parent’s time with the children. Maryland custody orders typically do not allow either parent to micromanage what happens during the other parent’s time with the children. Yet, some parents use technology to skirt current custody rules or manipulate their co-parent.
Can one parent install a tracking app on the phone of a child as a means of tracking their behavior and the actions of the other parent?
Maryland does not prohibit GPS tracking
Some states, including Connecticut, have already established rules about GPS tracking in co-parenting situations. Maryland has not yet enacted new statutes addressing this technology in family law situations.
However, current anti-stalking statutes may sometimes apply to certain abuses of GPS technology. The courts are unlikely to penalize a parent for wanting to know where their child is. However, if there is evidence that one parent uses GPS tracking on a child’s mobile phone as a way of harassing or stalking the other, then that could lead to criminal charges or a protective order.
Particularly in cases where one spouse uses hidden GPS devices instead of basic software installed on a child’s phone, there may be reason to worry about the use of GPS tracking to facilitate stalking and other abusive behavior. The concerned parent may need to implement new rules to protect themselves from an invasion of their privacy.
One potential solution for the abuse of GPS technology on a mobile device is to have each parent provide the child with a different device during their parenting time. That prevents one parent from gathering information they don’t need and leveraging it for inappropriate purposes.
Parents dealing with high-conflict custody scenarios may need help learning about their rights and the law. Recognizing GPS tracking as a warning sign of unhealthy co-parenting can be beneficial for those who share custody.
