In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last week, Senators Ron Wyden and Edward Markey urged the FTC to investigate several car companies caught selling and sharing customer information without clear consent. Alongside details previously gathered from reporting by The New York Times, the...
Car makers should not sell our driving and location history to data brokers or insurance companies,
Car makers should not have access to this information at all, except in cases when the owner chooses to give them a specific piece of it.
(Similarly, phone makers should not have access to conversations and camera makers should not have access to videos, except in cases when the owner chooses to record and give them a specific piece.)
I would support a law forbidding this sort of data collection, with stiff penalties for accidental violations and prison time for willful violations.
It’s insane to me the complete lack of consumer protection in the digital age. Our cars used to be our sanctuary. A symbol of freedom and comfort. Now they’re dystopian nightmares that make me very uncomfortable.
Not only that, but you have companies replacing apple/android auto with shit tech they have no business building. Predictably there are leaks all the time.
Genuine question: are there any options out there for someone who wants a simple car and is willing to pay a little more to avoid built in spyware and subscriptions for every tiny feature?
People have become accustomed to the corporate and government invasion of their lives little by little. This will most likely continue until it is too late.
I wish you were wrong about the complicity of the consumer, but as you said, years of “nothing to hide” drilled into their brains has conditioned the majority to accept this status quo.
Better yet, look up YouTube videos on how to remove the tracking bits. Sometimes it’s pretty easy, like just unplugging a connector or two (e.g. disabling OnStar is usually that easy). Do that research before buying, then remove it once you buy.
Thanks. I’d pay more for an EV that doesn’t build in any tech at all outside of the primary function of the car.
We need to draw a line between “essential auto technology” and the internet-connected convenience tech. I would love an open source project like GrapheneOS for autos. Or even just a tablet I can connect to the power and the stereo/mic for any sort of internet connected functionality (GPS, music, etc). Either way I want my open source OS to manage the modem firmware as I have no trust in these companies.
In an ideal scenario the EV driving tech could run locally with no network connection, and I can plug in something open / 3rd party for the network connected techie features
Car makers should not have access to this information at all, except in cases when the owner chooses to give them a specific piece of it.
(Similarly, phone makers should not have access to conversations and camera makers should not have access to videos, except in cases when the owner chooses to record and give them a specific piece.)
I would support a law forbidding this sort of data collection, with stiff penalties for accidental violations and prison time for willful violations.
It’s insane to me the complete lack of consumer protection in the digital age. Our cars used to be our sanctuary. A symbol of freedom and comfort. Now they’re dystopian nightmares that make me very uncomfortable.
Not only that, but you have companies replacing apple/android auto with shit tech they have no business building. Predictably there are leaks all the time.
Genuine question: are there any options out there for someone who wants a simple car and is willing to pay a little more to avoid built in spyware and subscriptions for every tiny feature?
People have become accustomed to the corporate and government invasion of their lives little by little. This will most likely continue until it is too late.
A sad world indeed.
I wish you were wrong about the complicity of the consumer, but as you said, years of “nothing to hide” drilled into their brains has conditioned the majority to accept this status quo.
Any of the 3g infinitis. They probably collected info, but they no longer have any means to transmit it.
The fact they call the nav screen “infotainment” tells you how much most of it isn’t needed.
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Better yet, look up YouTube videos on how to remove the tracking bits. Sometimes it’s pretty easy, like just unplugging a connector or two (e.g. disabling OnStar is usually that easy). Do that research before buying, then remove it once you buy.
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Thanks. I’d pay more for an EV that doesn’t build in any tech at all outside of the primary function of the car.
We need to draw a line between “essential auto technology” and the internet-connected convenience tech. I would love an open source project like GrapheneOS for autos. Or even just a tablet I can connect to the power and the stereo/mic for any sort of internet connected functionality (GPS, music, etc). Either way I want my open source OS to manage the modem firmware as I have no trust in these companies.
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Very true, but I can still dream haha
In an ideal scenario the EV driving tech could run locally with no network connection, and I can plug in something open / 3rd party for the network connected techie features
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Hot take: make data brokers illegal and audit these companies for compliance.