Why cops won't need a warrant to pull the data off your autonomous car
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/02/why-self-driving-cars-may-be-heaven-for-investigating-crimes-and-accidents/
In order for AVs to work, they have to snag all kinds of data
about the world around them: where precisely other objects are
at any given moment and how fast they are moving. That data
can seemingly be kept forever. Under current law, all of that
data can be obtained relatively easily by federal law
enforcement. In other words, if you're a privacy-minded
citizen, your threat model just changed. "Because of all of
the sensors and data that is being captured--[AVs] are giant
recording things," Jaeger said. "Even if they're not involved
in an incident directly, they captured some of it. Maybe
infrared data or something." This is profoundly different
from older cars that lack such sensors and do not gather up
such vast quantities of stored data. As such, Tesla's terms
and conditions--like those of other non-automotive tech
companies, including Apple, Google, and more--say that the
company will hand over data to law enforcement when legally
compelled to do so. Waymo did not respond to Ars' multiple
queries for clarification its position, so how far that
assistance will go is anyone's guess. For now, federal law
and Supreme Court precedent dictates that law enforcement has
the authority to legally monitor anyone in public. The basic
idea is that none of us have a "reasonable expectation of
privacy" when we are in public. So just as the police can
capture us with video cameras and license plate readers, so,
too, could they contract with AV automakers to simply get at
vast quantities of future AV data. And if the companies don't
want to play ball, such data can be accessed with a mere court
order (known as a "d-order") under the Stored Communications
Act of 1986.
- - -
Like I've been saying for ages. Even beyond the remote control
capabilities that law enforcement and governments will demand, the
video and other data collected by robocars are already making law
enforcement salivate. It's not just Waymo that doesn't like talking
about these aspects of robocars. Nobody in the industry wants
the public thinking about these aspects.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein ([email protected]): https://www.vortex.com/lauren
Lauren's Blog: https://lauren.vortex.com
Google Issues Mailing List: https://vortex.com/google-issues
Founder: Network Neutrality Squad: https://www.nnsquad.org
PRIVACY Forum: https://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: https://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Google+: https://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
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