Today, the federal government’s major auto safety regulator told automakers not to comply with a new Massachusetts state law. The fight over who can see data about your car is getting weird.
Telematics – Your Car’s Diary
Modern cars are pretty much computers on wheels. They contain dozens, sometimes hundreds, of tiny microchips controlling everything from engine timing to cabin temperature. And they keep track of a lot of it.
So-called vehicle telematics data keeps track of, among other things, the car’s performance and possible mechanical problems. Some cars even broadcast the data back to the automakers’ servers through always-on mobile internet connections. In some cases, automakers can send remote commands to the vehicles. That enables over-the-air software updates that fix problems remotely.
Related: What Is Telematics?
Telematics data can be vital to diagnosing problems and repairing them. But some automakers have been reluctant to make it available.
Without it, owners could be limited to using dealers for repairs. Third-party repair shops could be unable to perform some repairs. As even inexpensive cars grow more connected, that could squeeze repair shops out of business.
Massachusetts Has a “Right to Repair” Law
In 2020, Massachusetts voters passed a so-called “right to repair” law by referendum. It required automakers to make their telematics data available to third-party repair shops.
Today, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told automakers not to comply with the law. The agency, Reuters says, believes the law “poses significant safety concerns.”
Related: Hackers Show How to Unlock, Start Cars Remotely
According to the Boston Globe, the letter argues, “A malicious actor here or abroad could utilize such open access to remotely command vehicles to operate dangerously, including attacking multiple vehicles concurrently. Vehicle crashes, injuries, or deaths are foreseeable outcomes of such a situation.”
Car Hacking Is Mostly a Theoretical Threat
While that sounds like something out of a Hollywood action movie, we should note that most cars can’t be remotely driven. Even in controlled experiments, hackers have managed far less impressive feats.
Wired notes that hackers have instead simply managed to turn off anti-lock braking systems and unlock doors remotely. Car and Driver reports that, in a 2015 experiment, a pair managed to stall a moving car leaving the (volunteer) driver “helpless, coasting nearly to a stop in the right lane of a busy highway as traffic scrambled to avoid him.”
But theoretically, automakers’ efforts to develop self-driving cars could pose higher risks in the future.
Related: Self-Driving Cars — Everything You Need to Know
If you own a car in Massachusetts, the letter won’t change anything for you today. The Massachusetts Attorney General’s office, the Globe reports, has declined to enforce the law while waiting for legal disputes over the matter to resolve.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation — the largest trade group representing automakers — has filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to block enforcement of the law.
While it pends, the Globe reports, “No carmaker is currently providing telematic data as required by the law; two carmakers, Kia and Subaru, have stopped activating telematic services on their cars sold in Massachusetts to avoid violating the law.”
