I would like to have this power to use while walking down the street.
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I get your thinking but that presumes that you have a choice i.e. if all manufacturers go in this direction then you won’t have a choice. Hold onto your old tech car until it literally won’t go any more.
There is so much tech in cars these days that it is anyone’s guess what will happen if you intentionally disable sensors.
(For example, on my car the lane-keeping assist relies on the front-facing camera to detect lane markers - and it will be nudging the steering wheel if it thinks I am going out of my lane, which would be annoying but not serious. Likewise the automatic high-beam cancellation relies on some kind of front-facing image sensor - but obviously that only applies if driving at night - and that can be overridden by taking manual responsibility for high-beam cancellation. Then there are front and back obstacle sensors. …)
Maybe if you get critical mass of “failed” sensors, the car really would disable itself e.g. under the assumption that there has been a major fault.
It may be unlawful however to mute the horn. (Conversely, in an emergency, you just go for it - and take the risk that the cops issue a fine for unlawful use of the horn.) NB: This comment strongly depends on what applicable legislation exists in your jurisdiction.
Yes. Everything Tesla and more. Lawyer’s paradise, particularly in the US where legal claims are astronomical and payouts still eye-watering. The car company would have to decide whether it is a net financial gain.
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Yeah, maybe someday in the distant future cars will become automated shuttles, but besides us not being close to that tech yet, I don’t think there would be any private owners of cars at that point.
Right, but I’m fairly certain if you tape over the sensors or otherwise block them then you can still drive the car. If not, then I’d sue the manufacturer (if you can in Oz).
Maybe, but the risk of getting caught for that alone is miniscule, and if the cops are searching your car thoroughly enough to find out you disabled the horn, you’ve got much bigger problems.
And, with the damage to the reputation such accidents would cause, almost assuredly not worth it. Tesla can at least blame the driver for not paying attention, but commanding the car to drive on its own and resulting in damage/injury/death would be a whole nother shitstorm.
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Some of the recordings caught Tesla customers in embarrassing situations. One ex-employee described a video of a man approaching a vehicle completely naked.
Tesla: “…designed from the ground up to protect your privacy…”
Employees: “Hey, check out this naked dude! Heehee…”
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Don’t you get your freak on in your connected car.
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Here is a more useful and direct link for those looking to take more actionable steps.
There are other categories too, but I do not trust any of Mozilla’s assessments whatsoever. Their approval of the Apple HomePod Mini is a clear reminder of why I keep my relationship with them locked down.
Here is the quote that rang the alarm bells in my head:
About as safe as trusting Mozilla and Apple combined.
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Purism needs to make a Librem car.
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I can see it now though … yes, it runs AGL … but … the “bootloader” is locked down so that you can only install firmware signed by the manufacturer … and all the signed firmware “collects data from your car”.
In other words, like Unprivate Secure Boot, but without the option to disable it.
I think this would present some difficult challenges for the regulatory authorities - since a car that is running non-standard, buggy firmware could be a lethal weapon, lethal to the driver or lethal to other road users. Who is going to take legal liability if the firmware goes awry?
Note that under existing Purism policy, Purism would not sign the firmware. If it is signed at all, you would sign the firmware (to prevent an Evil Maid Attack).
Running non-standard firmware might void your Compulsory Third Party insurance (or such other name as it might be known in other jurisdictions) and it might void your Comprehensive insurance (ditto) and it might void other insurance. So the right to run your own firmware might in practice not be worth much.
These legal problems of course exist regardless of whether the Librem Car exists. That is, as cars become more and more complex, who is liable when something goes wrong? There have already been a number of court cases - and the manufacturer will want to “collect data from your car” so that they can use it as exculpatory evidence for themselves in the event of a court case.
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Discussion identified and indexed.
A little good news: One of the major sellers of detailed driver behavioral data is shutting down | Ars Technica
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Legislative attention: Senators Expose Car Companies’ Terrible Data Privacy Practices | Electronic Frontier Foundation
And: US senators claim car makers sold driver data for pennies • The Register
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The future no driver wanted is here: Who wants in-car ads tailored to your journey, passengers? • The Register
Ugh… Kill me now.
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Technically, no, it’s not “here”. And best case scenario it is genuinely a defensive patent that will never be implemented by Ford.
I believe that for safety reasons this shouldn’t even be legal. If someone has an accident and claims that the accident was caused by being distracted by an advertisement at an inopportune moment, look out for a mega-lawsuit. Legislation (road rules / regulations) should demand that it at least be possible to disable this functionality completely.
No doubt Ford will claim … oh but we use in car monitoring of the car’s speed and location etc. to determine when the car is just cruising and it’s safe to hit the driver with an advertisement or even … oh but we use in car monitoring to determine when the driver’s attentiveness is declining and we use advertisements to liven the driver up.
(My car occasionally badgers me to keep my hands on the steering wheel even when I have not taken my hands off the steering wheel. Not sure how that works. Or doesn’t work. Low priority problem though.)
We are in agreement though that the future of cars looks grim from a privacy (and security) perspective - across this and many other issues.
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Punk’s not dead!
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Ford Motors has patent on devices in vehicles to listen in to passengers and/or driver conversations so their AI can better build a profile so ads are targeted.
- Who authorized them to place a bug in every vehicle so Ford can listen to conversations.
- Who said it was OK to send ads through the vehicle and other devices that have been attached at one time or the other.
Would you let a mattress company put a bug in your mattress so they can learn what you’re doing and send targeted ads? Have you checked it for bugs? 
The problem is. They will do it with or without our permission. Once you buy a car, or lease it, you give up your rights to privacy. Even if you paid cash.
All in the game of shoving ads at us, in our vehicles and any other devices we use.
I think it only proper, fair and good for public relations if vehicle manufacturers want to put a listening stalker in our private property, we should be able to tune in and listen to manufacturers CEOs, all Board members, their families, friends, passengers, shareholders etcetera.
IMO
George Orwell’s 1984 is not a story. It is an instruction manual for corporations and governments.
*SMIRC
Stalk you
Monitor you
Inject Code to
Record and
Control you.
~s
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Amazingly, the U.S. gov’t has its own agenda in this matter:
So if I understand correctly:
-
If you purchase a Chinese-made car before the proposed deadline of 2027, you can avoid having your car listening to your conversation and show you relevant adds - but you will have the PRC tracking your location and monitoring your whereabouts
-
if you buy american-made, you can avoid Chinese state surveillance, but at the risk of dying in an accident because an obnoxious commercial was shown to you at the worst moment
What a strange world we live in…
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Ironically, the only ‘American Made’ car is the Toyota 
Everything else is made elsewhere
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Really? If this is indeed the case, we should expect some amazing chain supply schemes!
This industry hasn’t been hit yet with this sort of attacks, but it surely will. BOM/SBOM will be such a terrible headache
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