Or with decent operational security can you purchase and activate airtags in an untraceable way?
If you can that undermines your point, however if you can't then your making a very good point.
If a user has that level of tech savvy, there are plenty of other cellular GPS devices they could use.
I suspect they could get several cellular GPS devices for the cost of an iPhone + some AirTags - meaning they could easily offer up one or two sacrificial ones for easy finding in order to hide a smaller one "in plain sight" (as it were.)
Or they could just hire a private detective to do some stalking for them.
Or someone even less scrupulous for even less money, I'd assume?
People are subjecting themselves to voluntary surveillance and it's amazing to watch, Apple's promise to cooperate with "Law Enforcement" in most of the world was chilling. J Edgar Hoover would have creamed his pants - "Did you say MLK Jr. has several airtags? I want daily updates on where he's going."