this post was submitted on 19 Nov 2024
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Privacy

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New research reveals serious privacy flaws in the data practices of new internet connected cars in Australia. It’s yet another reason why we need urgent reform of privacy laws.

Modern cars are increasingly equipped with internet-enabled features. Your “connected car” might automatically detect an accident and call emergency services, or send a notification if a child is left in the back seat.

But connected cars are also sophisticated surveillance devices. The data they collect can create a highly revealing picture of each driver. If this data is misused, it can result in privacy and security threats.

A report published today analysed the privacy terms from 15 of the most popular new car brands that sell connected cars in Australia.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 hours ago

New report Mozilla said this a year ago I think. Released a privacy report on all car manufactures.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 22 hours ago

Sell me a dumb car.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

yep. I just with some car company would choose not to do this and advertise the fuck out of it. (looking at you Chrysler you have nothing to lose)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

They still have the Pacifica....

[–] [email protected] 1 points 18 minutes ago

uhm, the pacifica doesn't fit this description (source, worked at FCA on this kind of stuff and we put it in the pacifica).

The Dodge Grand Carvan, which was basically unchanged from '08-'19 on the otherhand...

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 day ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (1 children)

At least in most US cities, it's also illegal to sleep in your car.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

In all US cities, the police can't enter your car without a warrant. So just put up curtains and ignore them when they knock

[–] [email protected] 2 points 44 minutes ago (1 children)

Your word against theirs, and they can easily say they saw something suspicious. That's how it works with every stop and search.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 minutes ago

They still can't enter. The doors at locked. Are you thinking they'd break the glass?

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Seems like you have bigger issues than corporate surveillance.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 16 minutes ago

or he just has priorities that include travel experiences that he'd rather spend his limited cash on than a hotel. Until I got old and needed a c-pap machine this was certainly my preference.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 18 hours ago

Guess where surveillance capitalism is going to send you besides the grave.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 day ago

Not with that attitude!

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 day ago (6 children)

I played Cyberpunk 2077 many times and in the game they have vehicle quickhacks that allow you to stop a car temporarily (emergency break), force the car to full throttle (Floor it), taking control of the car... or making the car blow up with self-destruct.

Now it's just a game and this can be excused, but at the same time I wondered how the hell could you make a car blow up? Then I realize Tesla cars can burn quite viciously, and the mechanisms of opening the door CAN be jammed. The other shit is probably going to be quite possible soon if not already. Meaning we could see high-tech murders happen by people who find weaknesses in car cybersecurity and exploit it to kill their target, and if they cannot trace where the hacker was or how it would be an unsolvable murder...

But that's only if a random ass murderer does it. It wouldn't surprise me if corporations wanted to off someone they didn't like for any reason and that person was driving one of their cars then... yeah, it doesn't take much imagination there, does it?

Maybe it's because I am an elder millenial who never owned a car, but only rented cars when I need them, The most I ever used is google maps (now Osmand... which is the superior Open source option!) to find my way. But I never felt the need for anything else other than blindspot detectors (which don't need to be connected to anything!) to help in lane changing since it makes that task easier. I listen to all my music and stuff on my phone (which is another tracking device I fucking hate) so I don't even bother with the radio.

In short. I would like my automobile to be like what automobiles were... a hunk of metal that is used to travel from point A to point B. This is coming from someone who LOVES technology and I recently took the time to buy a 6000$ desktop because I fucking wanted the most high end machine I could get and I love it. But even I have my limits.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 15 minutes ago

yeah, I work in automotive and "vehicle inhibit" is definatley a feature we have. I could be wrong but I think its actually a legal requirement now to sell in certain jurisdictions (I don't work in that side of the company).

[–] [email protected] 3 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

That's how the CIA killed reporter Michael Hastings for demonstrating american arrogance of McChrystal and his squad of butchers which led to the europeans funding the war on islam a little bit less.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 hours ago

I just looked up Michael Hastings on Wikipedia and I find his 'car accident' to be a little too damn suspicious.

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[–] [email protected] 48 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Mozilla Foundation did a deep dive into this. And the results where abysmal. The only brands not completely horrifying where Renault/Dacia because they are European and only serve the European market so they have to follow GDPR.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 13 hours ago

I am less interested in ranking them based on what they do (because we can assume they just vacuum up everything anyway), and more in a ranking based on how easy the surveillance is to remove. Apparently for some cars the telematics module can be easily unplugged at least, losing you some non-critical functionality, but on others it may be integrated tighter.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 day ago

Any company that serves European customers have to follow GDPR. Any company that breaks it can be fined by the EU. Hence why a bunch of American websites rather just block European browsers instead of changing their cookie/data retention policies.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

This is why when I get my driver's license, I'll buy a car from 2012 that has no Internet. Probably old Skoda Octavia.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

9th Gen Civic

1.8 or 2.4L, no turbo, tons of manual transmissions out there, cheap to fix, easy to find and source with tons of motors still in crates brand new.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

Skodas, VWs, and other French and Spanish are more common than Hondas in country where I live.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

Ah, I figured they were as common here as anywhere else they were, but now that I remember it, Honda makes their American cars in Ohio, they aren't imports. That stacks.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 hours ago

Yeah I have a 2012 vehicle, doesn't even have built in Bluetooth. I love it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Unfortunately, many of the cars transmit the surveillance data through phone carrier data lines, using an embedded SIM card. So, sadly I don't think this would help very much.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 22 hours ago

If it's not helpful to the operation of the vehicle, then you can just wrap it in a Faraday cage. Oops no signal.

[–] [email protected] 88 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (8 children)

It's also why repair costs an arm and a leg.

It used to be a bumper was just filled with foam, so getting in a fender bender was a pretty cheap fix.

Now a bumper has upwards of $5000 in technology and sensors sitting in it, and a fender bender can often make the car considered "totaled" because the cost to repair is now more than the total resale value of the car.

Get a bike, ride a bus, fuck surveillance capitalism.

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (4 children)

I once had a conversation with AI to see what the fastest form of local transportation is, that didn't absolutely require paying any kind of insurance, like cars do. I did not expect the response at all: the AI told me horseback riding. The thing is, it's completely right, but it's something no human would ever have given as a response. Anyways, if anyone has a horse you don't want...

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 day ago (1 children)

An eBike would be faster, and way easier to maintain and store. They don't require insurance.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Horses can run between 25-30 MPH, a class 3 e-bike caps out at 28 MPH. So, they're about the same.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Also, horse is bigger/more visible to cars, and maybe could be in the street. So you may not have to wait on traffic crossings as much depending on the area.

I still choose e-bike because poo, but what a looney idea, I love it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 22 hours ago

Just superglue a neodymium magnet to the bottom of your bike shoe and hover it over the sensor lines in front of the stop light.

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