Staff Reports
The Biden administration has put the pedal to the metal in their efforts to investigate whether Chinese-made “smart cars” are snooping on American citizens and shipping their personal data overseas. The Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is taking charge of this investigation into whether these cars are quietly gathering up info on their American owners and sending it back to China faster than a speed racer at the Indy 500.
Commerce Department investigating national security risks posed by Chinese smart cars https://t.co/SHsvClDrof https://t.co/SHsvClDrof
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) February 29, 2024
President Joe Biden himself raised the red flag, warning that these connected vehicles from China could be snatching up sensitive data about us and our critical infrastructure, then zipping it off to the People’s Republic of China. He’s got a point—these cars are like smartphones on wheels, connected to everything from our phones to our navigation systems, and even the companies that built them. It’s like handing the keys to your privacy right over to Beijing!
But it’s not just the President who’s sounding the alarm. Commerce Secretary Raimondo is on the case, expressing her deep concerns about the cyber and espionage risks these sneaky smart cars bring to the table. Just imagine, she says, if there were thousands of these Chinese-connected vehicles on our roads and someone in Beijing could just hit the off switch, leaving us stranded like a flat tire in the middle of nowhere. Talk about a highway headache!
To tackle this high-stakes problem, the Commerce Department is reaching out to the public and the auto industry for their two cents on how to lock down the digital info these smart cars are hoarding. They’re aiming to whip up some regulations to keep a tight grip on this technology before it races out of control.
And no, this isn’t just a few cars we’re talking about here. While there aren’t many Chinese rides cruising down American streets due to hefty tariffs, some crafty companies have been trying to dodge those fees by setting up shop in places like Mexico. Sneaky, right?
But let’s hit the brakes for a moment and talk about the kind of data these cars are gobbling up like a hungry hippo. There are three main types, according to Privacy4Cars founder Andrea Amico: basic stuff like when you turn the car on, then there are metrics that car makers and insurance companies drool over, like where you’re driving and how fast, and finally, there’s the data that gets tossed to third parties like SiriusXM. It’s a treasure trove of info that most folks don’t even realize is being snatched up right under their noses.
And here’s the real kicker—most car companies aren’t spilling the beans on what exactly they’re collecting and who they’re selling it to. A study found that the vast majority of them keep this info under lock and key, leaving us all in the dark about where our data is going. It could be landing in the laps of hundreds of companies, including ones hailing from China.
But fear not, because President Biden pulled out the big guns with an executive order to stop American data from being passed around like a hot potato to “countries of concern” like Iran and—yep, you guessed it—China. It’s like slapping a boot on these cars’ wheels and putting an end to their joy ride with our private info. Now that’s what you call hitting the brakes on a potential privacy disaster!
