Your Car Is Tracking You. Abusive Partners May Be, Too. (www.nytimes.com)
from L4s@lemmy.world to technology@lemmy.world on 01 Jan 2024 12:00
https://lemmy.world/post/10191751

Your Car Is Tracking You. Abusive Partners May Be, Too.::Apps that remotely track and control cars are being weaponized by abusive partners. Car manufacturers have been slow to respond, according to victims and experts.

#technology

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autotldr@lemmings.world on 01 Jan 2024 12:00 next collapse

This is the best summary I could come up with:


After one of their fights turned violent in September 2022, Ms. Dowdall, a real estate agent, fled their home in Covington, La., driving her Mercedes-Benz C300 sedan to her daughter’s house near Shreveport, five hours away.

Ms. Dowdall called Mercedes customer service repeatedly to try to remove her husband’s digital access to the car, but the loan and title were in his name, a decision the couple had made because he had a better credit score than hers.

Modern cars have been called “smartphones with wheels” because they are internet-connected and have myriad methods of data collection, from cameras and seat weight sensors to records of how hard you brake and corner.

Detective Kelly Downey of the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office, who investigated Ms. Dowdall’s husband for stalking, also reached out to Mercedes more than a dozen times to no avail, she said.

Katie Ray-Jones, the chief executive of the National Domestic Violence Hotline, said abusive partners used a wide variety of internet-connected devices — from laptops to smart home products — to track and harass their victims.

Adam Dodge, a former family law attorney turned digital safety trainer, called car app stalking “a blind spot for victims and automakers.”


The original article contains 1,642 words, the summary contains 200 words. Saved 88%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

CaptainSpaceman@lemmy.world on 01 Jan 2024 14:26 next collapse

Dumb cars will br in high demand soon, like how people really want dumb TVs again

TheRealKuni@lemmy.world on 01 Jan 2024 16:29 collapse

I dunno, I really like the smart features of my car.

That said I also don’t mind most of the smart features of my TV, so perhaps I’m just a normie.

CaptainSpaceman@lemmy.world on 01 Jan 2024 18:32 collapse

Idk who downvoted you, but its a fair stance.

Theres. alot of features on said devices that make them attractive, but many people (myself included) choose to prioritize privacy which makes the PROs and CONs become one-sided.

For example, screen capture on smart TVs is disturbing…

Critical_Insight@feddit.uk on 01 Jan 2024 14:57 next collapse

I can assure you that my car isn’t tracking anyone. It even lets me go sideways without needing to ask for permission first.

TeckFire@lemmy.world on 01 Jan 2024 15:36 collapse

Me using a late 90’s model car from 2002 that I plan on keeping for a million miles if it will let me