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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Next Data Privacy Battle May Be Waged Inside Your Car
Source: New York Times
Cars are becoming smarter than ever, with global positioning systems, Internet connections, data recorders and high-definition cameras. Drivers can barely make a left turn, put on their seatbelts or push 80 miles an hour without their actions somehow, somewhere being tracked or recorded.
Automakers say they are only responding to consumer demand, and besides, they and regulators say, the new technologies help them better understand consumers and make the cars safer. But privacy advocates increasingly see something more unsettling for drivers: that someone is always watching.
Now two senators are trying to give car owners more say over some of that data. Early next week, Senator John Hoeven, Republican of North Dakota, and Senator Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, will introduce a bill stipulating that car owners control the data collected on the device called the event data recorder. The recorder, commonly known as a black box, collects information like direction, speed and seatbelt use in a continuous loop. It is in nearly every car today, and in September, it is set to become mandatory.
... It didnt help the automakers reassurances about their handling of data when Jim Farley, Ford Motor Companys top sales executive, who is known for making off-the-cuff comments, told a panel at the CES: We know everyone who breaks the law. We know when youre doing it. We have GPS in your car, so we know what youre doing. Although he quickly added, By the way, we dont supply that data to anyone, and later issued a full retraction, the comments, even if overblown and meant to be provocative, fueled the concerns.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/11/business/the-next-privacy-battle-may-be-waged-inside-your-car.html
Auggie
(31,184 posts)CountAllVotes
(20,878 posts)Squinch
(50,996 posts)jsr
(7,712 posts)WhiteTara
(29,722 posts)I was holding off buying a new car for better hybrid technology...looks like I need to buy a used car with current technology.
treestar
(82,383 posts)Very convenient. I can see why it sells. That company can get my location to give me directions - in fact it's a pain when they have trouble finding my location.
NightWatcher
(39,343 posts)Vashta Nerada
(3,922 posts)I don't want that black box in my car. It's bad enough the cell phone company knows where I am at all times and that the NSA is tracking my every move online. I don't need this.
IDemo
(16,926 posts)1993, fuel injection and anti-lock brakes are the only techie things on board. And I have a Stupid Phone® with no GPS.