Car Subscription Features Raise Your Risk of Government Surveillance, Police Records Show
1 min read
Summary
automakers are increasingly seeking to earn extra revenue by encouraging customers to accept monthly or annual fees to access different features such as hands-free driving systems and heated seats, which are already pre-installed in vehicles
This connectivity and subscription model poses a dual risk, however, by increasing both exposure to government surveillance and the likelihood of police interest, according to a report by Wired
Police records seen by the magazine show that US law enforcement agencies are increasingly aware of how connected cars can be used to gather information during investigations, with one officer noting that “if the vehicle has an active subscription, it does create more data”
Laws on surveillance are often playing catch-up with technology and are becoming more focused on geofencing and location data since a ruling by the US Supreme Court in 2018 which is forcing companies such as Google to make changes to software that effectively prevents them from responding to certain warrants.
