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Stop Your Car From Spying on You
re: electric vehicle
re: climate science
It’s not just EVs anymore.
Stop Your Car From Spying on You
2024-03-25
...Your Driving History May Be Transmitted and Stored
"Car companies are collecting information directly from internet-connected vehicles for use by the insurance industry," Kashmir Hill reported this month for The New York Times. "Sometimes this is happening with a driver's awareness and consent…. But in other instances, something much sneakier has happened."
Hill profiled Seattle resident Kenn Dahl, who checked his LexisNexis consumer disclosure report after his car insurance premium jumped by 21 percent. LexisNexis turned over documents containing "the dates of 640 trips, their start and end times, the distance driven and an accounting of any speeding, hard braking or sharp accelerations." The data came from General Motors based on his enrollment in OnStar Smart Driver. The records were interpreted as grounds for putting him in a higher insurance risk category.
... Your Car Is a Fourth-Amendment Nightmare
"Investigators have realized that automobiles—particularly newer models—can be treasure troves of digital evidence," CNBC reported in 2020. "Their onboard computers generate and store data that can be used to reconstruct where a vehicle has been and what its passengers were doing. They reveal everything from location, speed and acceleration to when doors were opened and closed, whether texts and calls were made while the cellphone was plugged into the infotainment system, as well as voice commands and web histories."
That record of our movements, communications, and activities is often available to government agencies just for the asking, Mozilla pointed out. "They can just ask for it (without a warrant) or hack into your car to get it. At least fourteen (56%) of the car brands' own privacy policies say they can voluntarily share your personal data with law enforcement or the government in response to a 'request.'"
...
WIND: my auto insurance rates jumped 30% since last fall. But not because of driving habits—it was a statewide increase stemming from the morons running the state regulating things out of economic viability. Insurers are abandoning California or dropping customers in droves due to risks that are no longer viable. My neighbor’s rates tripled on her home insurance. California is an economic disaster area for the non-rich.
Resources:
How to Figure Out What Your Car Knows About You (and Opt Out of Sharing When You Can
Vehicle Privacy Report (uses a VIN)
