According
to a new report published by the Mozilla Foundation, an American non-profit organization,
automobile manufacturers are collecting vast
quantities of data on
drivers and passengers, with some even tracking
drivers'—and passengers’-- sexual activity.
Mozilla
reviewed 25 automotive brands amongst 15 car companies. The results could be
shocking to many. German manufacturer Volkswagen said it could record drivers’
voices to profile them for targeted ads. More than half of the brands said they
can share data with government and law enforcement when requested, without
receiving a court order. Moreover, the report stated that Subaru insisted
the very fact of being a passenger in one of its cars implies consent to its
privacy policy!
Japanese
car manufacturer Nissan even said it could sell information about drivers and
passengers’ sexual activity, intelligence and health diagnosis to data
brokers, law enforcement agencies-- and other companies.
Jen
Caltrider, lead researcher at Mozilla Foundation (incidentally, the nonprofit
owner of the company running the Firefox Browser), said: “The amount of data
that these car companies blatantly said that they could collect was shocking.
It's like nobody's ever challenged them or asked them questions about privacy,
and so they just include everything.” (The same could be said about government.)
It’s a good thing the technology that allows
corporations and governments to thoroughly spy on us through our vehicles
didn’t exist in the days of the drive-in-theater.
And
it’s too bad it does now.
America,
and cars, both used to symbolize freedom and independence.
Those
days are fading away, now…like the taillights of a Mustang or Camaro heading
down Route 66 after dark.
No comments:
Post a Comment