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Comment by constantcrying | Hacker News Reader

Buy a European car then. The GDPR exists to protect people from this.

Also, I think the article leaves out why companies want your data. Which is because they really want to find out what people are doing with their cars. The car industry is highly competitive and cars are expensive to develop and you actually want to make the car people want. In the EU this requires things like anonymizing user data and needing opt in consent for data transfer (companies will honor the GDPR if at all possible to avoid major legal problems).

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I'd like to believe that, but US branches of car Non-US companies don't necessary adopt the same policy as the parent company. If Honda USA believes there's money to be made in abusing its customers, I'm confident they'll do it.

We saw this clear as day when Nissan USA denied all responsibility for installing unsafe steering wheel air bag igniters after NTSA demanded their recall. Nissan USA continued to stall for months, first saying that the igniters were NOT faulty, then claiming the responsibility lay only with the subcontractor who made the igniter -- and refusing to announce a recall.

These acts of unresponsibility were likely decided by lawyers only in the US branch of Nissan, since NTSA regulates Nissan only in the US. (This is largely why I bought a Honda rather than a Nissan afterward, since Honda's response to the airbag igniter fiasco was exemplary in contrast.)

Which European car? Nearly every one sold in the US has a "US Version" that has to go through DOT rules to be sold here, or even imported if under 25 years old. Otherwise I'd be rolling around in a new VW California.

> Buy a European car then ...

Someone mentioned recently that in the EU all new cars are mandated (or will soon be?) to have this data connection present for emergency purposes. :(

Sure, basically any new car made will phone home. The GDPR demands of companies very restrictive things on what can be done with that data, among them you have the right to see all of it.

If the companies want to know what people are doing, they should pay for it.

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