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Cameras in Your Car May Be Collecting Data

38 points by coloneltcb 7y ago

shadowgovt 7y ago
While I respect that the actual article is quite good, the headline got a chuckle out of me. "Well I sure hope they are; if not, I should probably turn them on or replace them!" Actual article tl;dr is the perpetual push-pull between data aggregation and privacy concerns over the data collected by cameras intended for other purposes like lane following or collision avoidance. One example shown in the pro column is MobileEye, which is trying to use aggregated data to identify problems with roads that civil engineers or maintenance could correct. One example shown in the con column is insurers leveraging data sets from their drivers to improve their information for negotiation purposes in the market.
- zeta0134 7y ago
  At this early stage in attempts at even semi-autonomous driving, I fully accept that if I purchase a vehicle with the sensor array, at least that manufacturer is going to get a whole bunch of data on my typical route and driving habits. Since that data is going to ideally make the round trip into their training networks and back into safety updates for that vehicle, this seems like a fair exchange. I would be upset to hear about unethical handling of the data, but I'm not surprised that it is collected. This tech desperately needs large amounts of data for research and development. It's in a totally different space from, say, Windows telemetry, where the utility of the data outside of advertising is questionable.
williesleg 7y ago
Of course they are. But the downfall is the Kung Flu, everybody's home. google, apple, facebook, etc are collectively shitting their pants, way less data collection!
nyanpasu64 7y ago
Cars should not be collecting data and uploading it over a cellular connection, unless the user explicitly opts into services based off that data, with clear informed consent.
- avmich 7y ago
  Wonder if there are new cars with privacy features - like ability to limit or disable sending the data to third parties, or if there are services which retrofit cars with such features. Seems like a market exists for this.
- retox 7y ago
  The last TV I bought had a multipage EULA before it would even boot. If you declined to agree the TV turned itself off. I wouldn't be surprised if new cars had the same thing.
LinuxBender 7y ago
Perhaps off topic: Has anyone figured out how to root their car and intercept the data uploads, replacing video with an entertaining animated gif and realistic fake telemetry data? I suppose that might void a warranty.
rurban 7y ago
The only clearly illegal thing is this: "Law enforcement agencies already use surveillance cameras, license-plate readers, and facial recognition software." Sue them. This would not be possible in Europe.
peterrs 7y ago
I think at this point everything around us is collecting data. So what's new? I just hope they use this data to improve mobility rather than to sell it to third parties. www.tryoily.com

38 points by coloneltcb 7y ago

While I respect that the actual article is quite good, the headline got a chuckle out of me. "Well I sure hope they are; if not, I should probably turn them on or replace them!" Actual article tl;dr is the perpetual push-pull between data aggregation and privacy concerns over the data collected by cameras intended for other purposes like lane following or collision avoidance. One example shown in the pro column is MobileEye, which is trying to use aggregated data to identify problems with roads that civil engineers or maintenance could correct. One example shown in the con column is insurers leveraging data sets from their drivers to improve their information for negotiation purposes in the market.

zeta0134 7y ago
At this early stage in attempts at even semi-autonomous driving, I fully accept that if I purchase a vehicle with the sensor array, at least that manufacturer is going to get a whole bunch of data on my typical route and driving habits. Since that data is going to ideally make the round trip into their training networks and back into safety updates for that vehicle, this seems like a fair exchange. I would be upset to hear about unethical handling of the data, but I'm not surprised that it is collected. This tech desperately needs large amounts of data for research and development. It's in a totally different space from, say, Windows telemetry, where the utility of the data outside of advertising is questionable.

williesleg 7y ago

Of course they are. But the downfall is the Kung Flu, everybody's home. google, apple, facebook, etc are collectively shitting their pants, way less data collection!

nyanpasu64 7y ago

Cars should not be collecting data and uploading it over a cellular connection, unless the user explicitly opts into services based off that data, with clear informed consent.

avmich 7y ago
Wonder if there are new cars with privacy features - like ability to limit or disable sending the data to third parties, or if there are services which retrofit cars with such features. Seems like a market exists for this.
retox 7y ago
The last TV I bought had a multipage EULA before it would even boot. If you declined to agree the TV turned itself off. I wouldn't be surprised if new cars had the same thing.

LinuxBender 7y ago

Perhaps off topic: Has anyone figured out how to root their car and intercept the data uploads, replacing video with an entertaining animated gif and realistic fake telemetry data? I suppose that might void a warranty.

rurban 7y ago

The only clearly illegal thing is this: "Law enforcement agencies already use surveillance cameras, license-plate readers, and facial recognition software." Sue them. This would not be possible in Europe.

peterrs 7y ago

I think at this point everything around us is collecting data. So what's new? I just hope they use this data to improve mobility rather than to sell it to third parties. www.tryoily.com