Resident warns council that proposed 'age signal' laws could enable geolocation tracking of children

Jerry B. Netra II of 10209 King Road addressed the Marshall County Council during public input to warn about laws that would require operating systems to include an "age signal." He cited examples from multiple states and said the feature, he argued, could be used by bad actors to geolocate and track children.

"These laws are creating a condition by which predators, pedophiles, and child traffickers can use this law to develop databases to track the locations of children," Netra said, and offered a video and handouts describing how an age signal combined with geolocation access could reveal a child's location to a website operator or app.

Netra told the council he posts operating-system installers on a 501(c)(3) site and has pledged not to include an age signal in his installers. He said his materials explain how an app or website could prompt a user to "Please verify your geolocation" and then obtain location data tied to the age signal, letting an actor identify and track children.

The council accepted the handouts and the speaker told members he would leave materials with the county attorney for distribution. No formal action followed; the comment was recorded during the public-comment period.