Chapter 19 Quiz
Instructions: Select the best answer for multiple-choice questions. Answer short-answer questions in 2–4 sentences.
Multiple Choice
1. Stalkerware is described in the chapter as a "dual-use technology." This means:
a) It can be used on both Android and iOS devices b) The same software can have both legitimate applications (parental control) and harmful applications (intimate partner surveillance), making it difficult to regulate based on technical function alone c) It is used by both domestic violence survivors and their abusers d) It operates using two separate monitoring channels simultaneously
Answer: b) The same software can have both legitimate applications (parental control) and harmful applications (intimate partner surveillance), making it difficult to regulate based on technical function alone
2. The Coalition Against Stalkerware was founded in what year?
a) 2013 b) 2016 c) 2019 d) 2021
Answer: c) 2019
3. Why is it important NOT to immediately remove stalkerware from a device without safety planning first?
a) Removing stalkerware may violate the terms of service of the app store b) Stalkerware may be needed as evidence in subsequent legal proceedings c) Sudden loss of access may cause an abuser to escalate to physical violence d) Removal is technically impossible without the abuser's cooperation
Answer: c) Sudden loss of access may cause an abuser to escalate to physical violence
4. Evan Stark's concept of "coercive control" is significant in domestic violence scholarship because it:
a) Focuses exclusively on physical violence, providing a clear legal standard b) Identifies the persistent pattern of surveillance, isolation, and restriction as the central harm of abusive relationships, distinct from episodic violence c) Argues that technology is the primary driver of contemporary domestic abuse d) Defines coercive control as legally equivalent to assault in all U.S. jurisdictions
Answer: b) Identifies the persistent pattern of surveillance, isolation, and restriction as the central harm of abusive relationships, distinct from episodic violence
5. The most common method by which stalkerware is installed on a victim's device is:
a) Phishing emails that automatically install software when opened b) Carrier-level account manipulation c) Brief physical access to the device by the abuser d) Social engineering through the device manufacturer's customer service
Answer: c) Brief physical access to the device by the abuser
6. Which parental monitoring app uses AI to flag safety signals (bullying, predatory contact, self-harm) without giving parents access to all children's communications?
a) Life360 b) mSpy c) Bark d) Google Family Link
Answer: c) Bark
7. The FTC's 2021 action against SpyFone was significant because it was:
a) The first time a domestic violence organization successfully prosecuted a stalkerware case b) The first major federal enforcement action specifically targeting a stalkerware company c) The case that established stalkerware as a federal criminal offense d) The case that required Apple to remove stalkerware from the App Store
Answer: b) The first major federal enforcement action specifically targeting a stalkerware company
8. The Markup's reporting on Life360 revealed that the company was:
a) Secretly installing stalkerware on users' devices b) Selling precise location data from its users, including children, to commercial data brokers c) Sharing family location data with law enforcement without warrants d) Using location data to target advertising to domestic violence survivors
Answer: b) Selling precise location data from its users, including children, to commercial data brokers
9. Which country was the first to make coercive control a criminal offense?
a) United States (federal level) b) Australia c) England and Wales (under the Serious Crime Act 2015) d) Canada
Answer: c) England and Wales (under the Serious Crime Act 2015)
10. In the chapter's framework for evaluating relationship surveillance, "reciprocity" refers to:
a) The requirement that both parties use the same type of smartphone b) Whether both parties have equivalent access to equivalent information c) Whether both parties agreed to enter the relationship d) The requirement that monitoring only occurs during mutually agreed times
Answer: b) Whether both parties have equivalent access to equivalent information
11. Research on parental monitoring and adolescent development suggests that:
a) All forms of monitoring, visible and covert, produce equivalent developmental outcomes b) More monitoring is always better for adolescent safety c) Covert monitoring correlates with reduced trust in parent-child relationships and may be associated with worse outcomes on some risk behaviors d) Adolescents have no privacy interests that should constrain parental monitoring
Answer: c) Covert monitoring correlates with reduced trust in parent-child relationships and may be associated with worse outcomes on some risk behaviors
12. The "internalized gaze" in the context of relationship surveillance refers to:
a) The stalkerware application's interface on the abuser's device b) The monitored partner's regulation of their own behavior based on awareness that monitoring might occur, even when the abuser is not actively watching c) The survivor's internal psychological process of recognizing abuse d) The court's assessment of a victim's testimony about surveillance
Answer: b) The monitored partner's regulation of their own behavior based on awareness that monitoring might occur, even when the abuser is not actively watching
13. An abuser who purchases a new phone for a partner and sets it up before giving it to them may be using which stalkerware installation method?
a) Phishing b) Carrier-level manipulation c) Factory reset plus configuration with built-in monitoring tools d) Remote exploitation of a device vulnerability
Answer: c) Factory reset plus configuration with built-in monitoring tools
True / False
14. The National Domestic Violence Hotline has specific guidance on technology safety, including how to safely check for stalkerware.
Answer: True. The NDVH and its associated Safety Net project at NNEDV provide extensive technology safety guidance specifically designed for survivors, including guidance on safe device auditing.
15. Read receipts in messaging apps are a form of surveillance in a technical sense, monitoring another person's communication behavior.
Answer: True. Read receipts notify one party when another has read their message, creating ambient monitoring of communication behavior. Their normalization does not change their technical character as surveillance.
Short Answer
16. Explain why the commercial availability of parental monitoring apps creates a legal protection problem for stalkerware regulation. How does the "dual-use" character of these products shape the regulatory challenge?
Model answer: Stalkerware and parental monitoring apps are technically identical: both install software on a device to monitor communications, location, and other activity, typically without the device user's active awareness. Both are sold commercially through legitimate channels. The distinction between a legitimate parental monitoring installation and stalkerware use is a matter of social context — specifically, whether the monitored person has consented and whether the monitoring serves the monitored person's interests or the controlling interests of the installer. Making the software itself illegal would eliminate legitimate parental monitoring uses that many families rely on. Making only non-consensual use illegal creates enforcement challenges because the device itself does not display consent; it only shows that the software is running. This dual-use character means regulatory responses must focus on the relationship context (coercive control laws) and survivor support (detection tools, safety planning) as well as software regulation.
17. Jordan learns about Malik's situation and responds by providing technical resources rather than immediately telling Malik to remove the stalkerware. Explain the reasoning behind this approach and what it reveals about the relationship between technical and social responses to tech-facilitated abuse.
Model answer: Jordan's approach reflects the principle, emphasized by domestic violence advocates, that safety planning must precede technical remediation in stalkerware cases. If an abuser who is monitoring a target's phone suddenly loses access — because the software was removed — they may escalate to direct contact, physical confrontation, or other forms of harmful behavior. The target's physical safety is more important than the immediate technical fix. This sequencing reveals that tech-facilitated abuse is not primarily a technical problem with a technical solution; it is a social and relational problem that manifests through technology. Providing Malik with detection resources is the appropriate first step; the subsequent steps — safety planning, contacting an advocate, deciding what actions to take — require human guidance and support that technical tools cannot provide. Technology can detect abuse; only social support can address it safely.