Comment Being a 16 year old... (Score 0) 727
...myself, in particular one who is about to receive a car of my own (15-16 is learner permit age, 16-17 is full licence age, varying by state), this story hits very close to home.
It goes without saying that the parents have the right to put the tracking device in their own car when giving it to their kid. The problem comes in when they try to put the device in the teenager's own car, one that the teenager was either given as a gift (and had all the ownership papers transferred to them, etc, etc) or paid for in their own cash. I think, at 16, you have the right to control what you own.
My reasoning is that at 16 and 17, you start gaining other rights and responsibilities, such as the right to move out, and the responsibility to be tried as an adult in court. While your parents may still be supporting you at that age, they also lose the right to control you. Freedom alone does not make for a sense of responsibility, but it just isn't morally right to allow parents full control over their kids at that kind of age. Things like hidden cameras and GPS tracking systems are available to the public these days - I think it's of increasing importance to establish these principles as law.
Full disclosure: I have never done the proper legal research on this.
I find this new kind of technology very scary, because of it's potential for spying and control from afar. There are many, many more moral ways to keep your kid out of trouble, albeit with more work on the parent's part.
It goes without saying that the parents have the right to put the tracking device in their own car when giving it to their kid. The problem comes in when they try to put the device in the teenager's own car, one that the teenager was either given as a gift (and had all the ownership papers transferred to them, etc, etc) or paid for in their own cash. I think, at 16, you have the right to control what you own.
My reasoning is that at 16 and 17, you start gaining other rights and responsibilities, such as the right to move out, and the responsibility to be tried as an adult in court. While your parents may still be supporting you at that age, they also lose the right to control you. Freedom alone does not make for a sense of responsibility, but it just isn't morally right to allow parents full control over their kids at that kind of age. Things like hidden cameras and GPS tracking systems are available to the public these days - I think it's of increasing importance to establish these principles as law.
Full disclosure: I have never done the proper legal research on this.
I find this new kind of technology very scary, because of it's potential for spying and control from afar. There are many, many more moral ways to keep your kid out of trouble, albeit with more work on the parent's part.
