- cross-posted to:
- news@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- news@lemmy.world
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This article and a few others are based on This report from Mozilla. It’s nice to see some major news sites picking up on this.
Tesla: “But that’s the sole reason we make cars in the first place!”
How is this even legal in the first place?
Because we live in capitalist oligarchies masquerading as “democracies”.
Because the US government is run by like 80 year old boomers who don’t even know how to use a cell phone, let alone regulate data collection.
Fyi some auto makers will “disable” the data collection and upload, if you call them and tell them to for your vehicle. Now whether they actually are disabling it is another story entirely…
There are likely ways to “root” your car and take a look at exactly what is going on but I have no clue how.
Find the wire powering the cellular modem and add a switch. Without the cellular modem on there’s no way for the car to phone home.
I’m assuming a local car shop will refuse to do this for you?
Would there be any functionality side effects of doing this?
An independent mechanic would probably do it. The dealer probably wouldn’t.
Disabling the modem would make any features that rely on Internet stop working. Could mess up the infotainment system. If the wire that powers the modem also powers the radio then you could lose that too. It will take trial and error to find the right wire and it’s different for every car.
That’s why I suggest using a switch instead of cutting it out completely, so if it breaks something you can turn it back on. This also helps to retain the value of the car since the next owner probably wants the modem on.
Oh yeah, I meant an independent shop, not the official dealer. Thx for the info though. It’s digusting that cars collect so much.
I found out that my car uploads driving metrics to the manufacturer constantly, including speed, braking metrics, nav info, etc.
Hopefully they’ll get slapped with a fat GDPR fine
Let’s hope so, but up to now I haven’t heard anything about car privacy and GDPR/DMA/DSA
This is the best summary I could come up with:
BOSTON (AP) — Most major car manufacturers admit they may be selling your personal information — though they are vague on the buyers, a new study finds, and half say they would share it with the government or law enforcement without a court order.
Cars scored worst for privacy among more than a dozen product categories — including fitness trackers, reproductive-health apps, smart speakers and other connected home appliances — that Mozilla has studied since 2017.
Spokesman Brian Weiss said that for safety reasons the group “has concerns” about letting customers completely opt out — but does endorse giving them greater control over how the data is used in marketing and by third parties.
Japan-based Nissan astounded researchers with the level of honesty and detailed breakdowns of data collection its privacy notice provides, a stark contrast with Big Tech companies such as Facebook or Google.
Further, Nissan says it can share “inferences” drawn from the data to create profiles “reflecting the consumer’s preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes.”
If an owner opts out of data collection, Tesla’s privacy notice says the company may not be able to notify drivers “in real time” of issues that could result in “reduced functionality, serious damage, or inoperability.”
The original article contains 956 words, the summary contains 209 words. Saved 78%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Good bot!
Ans there’s even no Chinese brands… Will be even much worse!
I wonder how hard it is to disable certain tacking “features” on a car. Could I simply remove the WiFi system, cut an antenna, or pull the power to a section?
The only issue is your entire infotainment system including the radio will probably stop working.
Darn. I might be willing to take that loss, assuming I can keep the speakers and A/C.
Yes. At the very minimum you can locate the GSM transmitter and snip a few circuit board traces. It’s not simple by any means but as long as it’s not integrated into a monolithic chip it will be possible.
Are they talking about electric cars ? My car is Petrol and I only connect my phone via Bluetooth, what data can it possibly collect and doesnt it need an internet connection?
Read the article?
No
