Court rules automakers can record and intercept owner text messages
A Seattle-based appellate judge ruled that the practice does not meet the threshold for an illegal privacy violation under state law, handing a big win to automakers Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen and General Motors.
I am a total ignoramus about law, but this sounds more like a legislative failure than a judicial one.
But the appellate judge ruled Tuesday that the interception and recording of mobile phone activity did not meet the Washington Privacy Act’s standard that a plaintiff must prove that “his or her business, his or her person, or his or her reputation” has been threatened.
If we had comprehensive federal data privacy law, then we wouldn't have to challenge these practices against wet-noodle state laws that weren't actually designed for it, right?
Yeah, Federal law is pretty lax on any privacy protections. You would think that wiretapping laws would carry over into digital communications such as cellular usage, but I guess that doesn’t make much sense to the legal experts that run this country.
i hate it but It also is user choice, the car and phone ask what connectivity you want. Even adter pairing you can tell your device what to allow to BT interface. You agree to the tranafer unfortunately
Is the user aware that the data they synchronize to their car, a machine that they own, is sold by the car manufacturer to advertisers? Do they explicitly agree to the selling of their data, when selecting what connectivity they want?
Can you blame the user for making a choice, when they're not told the consequences of that choice?
I’m going to assume this judge hasn’t been unduly influenced.
This looks like a classic case of following the letter of the law, while ignoring the spirit of the law. The law seems like it’s intended to punish harmful violations of privacy. No reasonable person can conclude that the sale of tens (or hundreds) of thousands of people’s private data is entirely harmless, but that’s what this judge did.
US courts often take “reasonable” assumptions into account when making judgments or issuing sentences. Just because the plaintiffs couldn’t actually prove specific damage is no reason to assume it didn’t/won’t happen.
Isn’t that the big difference between civil law (most of Europe) and common law (UK, US)? The former follows the spirit of the written laws (even including comments by the lawmakers), while the latter follows the letter of the law.
I honestly don’t know. True or not, though, it’s an interesting idea!
I think it's time that we move the letter of the law past the requirement to prove harm in cases of encroachment on personal agency. Such things are next to impossible to prove as harmful (especially within a limited time frame) yet the damage is irreparable and can potentially continue forever.
Yeah. What the hell were the plaintiffs supposed to do? How do you get proof of something like this? Break into an exec’s office? Hack an auto manufacturer’s network?
Oh, wait a sec. Evidence that’s acquired illegally generally isn’t admissible. So even those ridiculous plans wouldn’t work. I guess the best we can do is wait until the harm is done, and then hope there’s a sloppy enough paper trail to unequivocally prove exactly who did it.
Apparently, that’s MUCH better than using some common sense.
An auto manufacturer, who has no business snooping on your texts in the first place, should not have permission to keep copies of them. Ever. It’s an absurdly obvious question. The plaintiffs shouldn’t have to prove they’ve been harmed. The auto manufacturers should have to prove that their intentions benefit all customers, AND that those benefits outweigh the risks.
And no, advertising that’s specifically targeted at my perceived needs and interests doesn’t count as a “benefit”. Sorry not sorry.
In the EU, they would tar & feather the automakers for even thinking about such an idea.