Victims of domestic violence appeal to automakers for measures to stop unauthorized surveillance.
Across America, victims of harassment and domestic violence are increasingly facing the challenge of being able to track the location of cars. It arises because of vague security policies, uncertain corporate responsibility, and risky behavioral patterns in the digital world that have already become the norm in people's relationships.
Modern cars are equipped with many smart features, similar to those found in simple smartphones. Wi-Fi, wireless charging, multiple cameras, remote start-up and even real-time diagnostics — all this can hardly surprise the average owner of a "fresh" foreign car of comfort class right now.
Of particular note among this pile of smart features is the location tracking function, which, although designed to respond to, for example, car theft, is often used maliciously.
So, recently, the New York Times reported on a woman whose husband used the location tracking capabilities of their Mercedes-Benz sedan for surveillance and harassment. Despite the court injunction and the woman's exclusive right to use the car after filing a domestic violence complaint, Mercedes representatives said that they could not disable her husband's access to geolocation, since the car was registered in his name.
A similar case occurred earlier with a woman from San Francisco, who accused Tesla of insufficient measures to protect her privacy after her husband continued to track her movements through the Tesla app, despite the existence of a court order.
In response to such incidents, General Motors has already implemented a protection mechanism through the OnStar service, which allows any driver to hide car location data from other users. Electric car startup Rivian is also working on a similar feature.
While the legislation lags behind in addressing this issue, car manufacturers could take urgent measures to protect users from abuses such as those described above. This would help ensure safety and privacy for those who are forced to flee and hide, using their car as a means of escape and temporary shelter from violence.
Victims of such crimes should have the right to security and confidentiality, without waiting for changes in legislation. Only the efforts of automakers can prevent abuse and ensure justice for vulnerable groups of the population at the moment.
Across America, victims of harassment and domestic violence are increasingly facing the challenge of being able to track the location of cars. It arises because of vague security policies, uncertain corporate responsibility, and risky behavioral patterns in the digital world that have already become the norm in people's relationships.
Modern cars are equipped with many smart features, similar to those found in simple smartphones. Wi-Fi, wireless charging, multiple cameras, remote start-up and even real-time diagnostics — all this can hardly surprise the average owner of a "fresh" foreign car of comfort class right now.
Of particular note among this pile of smart features is the location tracking function, which, although designed to respond to, for example, car theft, is often used maliciously.
So, recently, the New York Times reported on a woman whose husband used the location tracking capabilities of their Mercedes-Benz sedan for surveillance and harassment. Despite the court injunction and the woman's exclusive right to use the car after filing a domestic violence complaint, Mercedes representatives said that they could not disable her husband's access to geolocation, since the car was registered in his name.
A similar case occurred earlier with a woman from San Francisco, who accused Tesla of insufficient measures to protect her privacy after her husband continued to track her movements through the Tesla app, despite the existence of a court order.
In response to such incidents, General Motors has already implemented a protection mechanism through the OnStar service, which allows any driver to hide car location data from other users. Electric car startup Rivian is also working on a similar feature.
While the legislation lags behind in addressing this issue, car manufacturers could take urgent measures to protect users from abuses such as those described above. This would help ensure safety and privacy for those who are forced to flee and hide, using their car as a means of escape and temporary shelter from violence.
Victims of such crimes should have the right to security and confidentiality, without waiting for changes in legislation. Only the efforts of automakers can prevent abuse and ensure justice for vulnerable groups of the population at the moment.
