Connected Cars: Mozilla Slams Auto Industry as 'Surveillance Machines' Harvesting Biometric Data
Mozilla Foundation research flagged all 25 reviewed car brands as flawed privacy risks. The findings confirm modern connected vehicles aggressively harvest intimate data. This includes detailed metrics on health, weight change, mood, race, and sexual orientation.
Commenters like FineCoatMummy argue the focus must be on bypassing surveillance in *new* models, not just old ones. fpslem cited Mozilla research stating no major brand offers adequate privacy. There is technical debate over solutions, ranging from physically removing antennas or pulling fuses to the need for complex 'central model by model repository' guidance.
The overwhelming consensus is that vehicle manufacturers are pipelines for deeply personal information. The battleground is now practical defense: whether to physically hack the hardware or to create a definitive guide mapping out corporate data collection packages.
Key Points
#1Modern vehicles are data vacuums collecting intimate profiles.
The data collected is reportedly as extensive as 'sex-life data, biometric data, demographic, race, sexual orientation, gender,' hidden behind corporate legal jargon (Misha Rykov via fpslem).
#2The industry fundamentally fails privacy standards.
Mozilla Foundation research asserts all 25 reviewed car brands fail to offer adequate privacy protections due to data sharing (fpslem).
#3Actionable mitigation involves physical hardware disruption.
A repeated suggestion is physically uncoupling the antenna or bypassing the telematics module by removing a fuse (FineCoatMummy).
#4Discussions require a technical map for surveillance countermeasures.
A user noted the necessity of a 'central model by model repository of information' to advise bypassing surveillance packages (Outlier Insight).
#5The scope of data collection is alarming.
FineCoatMummy detailed specific data points harvested, such as real-time health metrics like weight gain or loss, and mood tracking.
Source Discussions (3)
This report was synthesized from the following Lemmy discussions, ranked by community score.