Tracking device could raise legal issues - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

13 Investigates has uncovered a new device that allows you to keep track of your kids or spy on your spouse. It's supposed to let you know exactly where they are and exactly what they're saying, but it could also land someone in jail.

For some parents, raising teenagers isn't what it used to be.

"They have the opportunity to get into a heck of a lot more trouble than we did," said LeeAnn Bird.

That's why LeeAnn and Alan Bird ask a lot of questions of 16-year-old Alex and 15-year-old Haley.

"I want to know what they're doing all the time," Alan said. "So when you ask, 'Do I want some help?' Heck yeah, I want some help."

It fits in the palm of your hand, but a device called Detectigo promises to become your personal private detective - just the thing the Birds say could make parenting a little easier.

"Any aid I have to help me become a better parent, I want to have it," Alan said.

It's just the thing their kids say could make privacy a privilege of the past.

"If you did a good job at concealing it, you could definitely get a lot of people in trouble with this," said Alex, a sophomore at Fishers High School.

Detectigo has a GPS antenna that tracks locations. A small hole conceals a microphone.

"If I could monitor what they're saying, yeah, I would be interested in hearing it," Alan said.

So if Detectigo found its way into the average parent's hands at the asking price of $149?

"I think they'd find out some unflattering things about their kids and they'd have a different kind of view on what their kids do," Alex said.

The Birds and their kids agreed to test Detectigo. Alex and his friend knew Detectigo was along for the ride and his parents were listening in. The device essentially has its own phone number to call and sync up. The audio wasn't that great, but the GPS showed where the teenagers were driving.

Detectigo is just one of hundreds of devices available in the world of surveillance. All of them, though, are illegal if used to eavesdrop.

"There's a device for everybody to be a James Bond," said Tim Wilcox.

Wilcox has seen his share of the devices after 42 years as a private investigator.

"They've gotten better. They've gotten cheaper. The technical capabilities are just unbelievable," said Wilcox.

But there's a question: Is this legal eavesdropping?

It depends on who you ask and who you're listening to.

Wilcox says the Federal Wiretapping Law prevents you from listening in on or recording a conversation you're not a part of, even if one of the people doing the talking is your underage child.

"Some people would say, 'Tim, how is that illegal? Why is that bad?'," asked Eyewitness News Reporter Emily Longnecker.

"I sympathize with you. I have three daughters and five grandkids," said Wilcox. "I'm just telling you, the law says it's illegal and you can be prosecuted."

"That's shocking. It doesn't seem quite right," Alan Bird said.

That's because IU Law Professor and Privacy Law Expert Fred Cate says it's not.

"There's a lot of federal law on illegal surveillance, but it almost always requires that you're doing the surveillance for some illicit purpose," Cate said.

But as long as devices like Detectigo could raise wiretapping questions, the Birds say they'll just do it the old fashioned way.

"I told my kids I can't be their friend, I've got to be their dad," Bird said.

That means sometimes saying no.