S.T.O.P. Report Shows Cars Are Wiretaps On Wheels

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Report Shows Cars Are Wiretaps On Wheels Report details how new cars store enormous amounts of passenger data, sending it to carmakers and police. (New York, NY, 11/1/22) - Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy group, released Wiretaps on Wheels: The Acceleration of Automotive Surveillance, detailing how new cars collect enormous amounts of passenger data, sending it to carmakers and police. SEE: Report – Wiretaps on Wheels: The Acceleration of Automotive Surveillance https://www.stopspying.org/wiretaps-on-wheels “It’s time to put the brakes on law enforcement’s easy access to car data,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Research Director Eleni Manis. “From where you go to who you call, your car knows so much about you. It’s widely understood that our smartphones track us, but cars collect even more data and with fewer legal safeguards. Our report calls on lawmakers to enact new legislation to shift car data surveillance into reverse.” “Increasingly, our cars are watching us instead of the road,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “Too many of the technologies in new cars are a police tool in the making, collecting a constant log of our movements throughout the day. When every turn we take is tracked, it creates a potent tool to track religious activity, political movements, and even reproductive care. When every car is a wiretap on wheels, the open road takes us straight to a police state.” SEE: Bottom Line, Inc. - Your Car Is Spying on You https://bottomlineinc.com/life/consumer-technology/your-car-is-spying-on-you Key Findings Include: Cars collect much more detailed data than our cellphones, but they receive fewer legal and technological protections, making them vulnerable to warrantless searches through constitutional loopholes. Law enforcement agencies listen to conversations happening in cars using cars’ emergency response systems and hands-free microphones, a process colloquially called “cartapping.” Cars with telematics and infotainment systems collect source material for sensitive biometric data, such as photos that can be fed into facial recognition software and voice commands that can produce a driver’s voiceprint. Most carmakers do not disclose requests for vehicle data by withholding transparency reports, intentionally hiding how many government requests they receive each year. U.S. immigration agencies weaponize car data, and other law enforcement agencies are poised to follow suit if they are not already doing so. New legislation, enforcement of existing data protection laws, and responsible car design and data storage policies can mitigate the harms of car data surveillance. Last fall, S.T.O.P. expressed concerns over a federal law requiring carmakers to install driver surveillance devices in all new vehicles as of 2026, monitoring for signs that a driver is inebriated. The group expressed concern that the technology could be biased, particularly against drivers with physical disabilities, and that it would be easy for drunk drivers to circumvent. SEE: Press Release - S.T.O.P. Expresses Concerns Re Federal Driver Surveillance Mandate https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2021/11/10/stop-expresses-concerns-re-federal-driver-surveillance-mandate-2 The Hill - Congress will make your car spy on you https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/585118-congress-will-make-your-car-spy-on-you/ The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color. -- END -- CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn   Copyright © 2021 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.