US proposes ban on Chinese, Russian connected car tech over security fears The US Commerce Department has decided not to wait for the inevitable, and today announced plans that would ban connected vehicle technology - and vehicles using it - from Chinese and Russian sources. In an announcement today, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) said that it was proposing a rule that would prohibit the …
I want a ban on ALL connected tech. I want, at bare minimum, any and all “connected” tech to include a mandatory option to be completely and utterly free from ALL connections.
That includes your friggin Apple, your friggin Microsoft, your friggin Sony, your friggin Google, your friggin WHOEVER!!
If your friggin tech can’t work unless it’s connected to your friggin company, then that tech device should be friggin BANNED.
End of line.
Calls and SMSs can be made without a data connection*.
If you absolutely need to use a web browser, there's absolutely no need for that web browser to run everything by Google/Apple/etc.
* I appreciate that VoLTE requires a data connection, but AFAIK that connection is established outside of the grasp of the aforementioned scumbags "gatekeepers."
There is a solid argument for removing as much tech as possible from cars, certainly all the connected stuff. It would make them cheaper, more resilient, and ensure that they would be independent of vendors (and vendors' servers), so when a vendor goes under, they would still work. Much of what cars use can be generic. And if it isn't connected, it can be as cheap and Chinese as you like.
The whole self-driving thing has torpedoed the rapid development of EVs.
Ditto homes and other stuff. There is zero value in things like Smart Meters but billions has been spent bodging their roll out. They offer no benefit to the environment whatsoever.
The idea that more tech is inevitably better needs to be flushed.
"...but seems like most of them do these days". It's been longer than these days. I have a 2011 VW and a 2012 Nissan that both connect to my phone. I was astonished to find the Nissan did, as it's a bare bones Frontier. I declined to sync my data, but accepted only to have hands free if needed. I hate all the tech in vehicles these days. Talk about distracting?! Isn't a spouse and a kid enough?
"Now can we extend this to ANY connected car tech, not just Chinese or Russian? I don't need or want a car with the capability of reporting my location, music preferences, list of contacts from phone, etc., but seems like most of them do these days"
And, of course, any Russian, or Chinese, or <insert bogeyman of the day here> HACKERS won't care at all what the country of origin of the car software is. They'll happily hack into a Ford or Toyota or BMW or anything else. Banning just the *foreign* car makers who have a better-cheaper product isn't going to solve that problem.
And have 3D views of the inside of your facility, not just the view from the public street, and inside your underground parking. With real time updates of what changed - when a delivery arrives, how busy are your loading docks, when do your employees go home ?
Even without the Asiatic bogey-man of the day - I would be concerned if I were Ford and people were driving Teslas into my plant.
The American made* ones however, being designed to essentially be living rooms on wheels, are stuffed with touchscreens and phone docks and countless other technotoys that the dealerships order to maximize their overhead, so they're hardly exempt. And thanks to planned obsolescence the software in said vehicles is rubbish since it only has to work as long as the average lease period lasts, so who knows if, how or when it's been compromised.
*and by made I mean assembled in Canada or Mexico, depending on the company
They are already ahead of you Wanna watch a movie? Sure! Lemme just park the lounge room
My car dates back from 2003, so driving assist or Internet connection are not to be worried about. When I replace it, I expect to favor another older used car over fighting against unavoidable assistance. But Tesla aside, do recent cars really require an Internet connection to operate, or is it just to enable non essential options?
My 2021 Audi doesn't appear to "need" any sort of connection. I don't pay for the 'Audi Connect' subscription that gives you navigation, commanding it with "hey Audi" and so forth because I don't need any of that. That said I haven't looked up how to disable its LTE modem so I suppose I haven't fully tested that theory. It does do occasional MMI (the touchscreen interface) updates, but I doubt I'd lose anything if it wasn't getting them.
I would not purchase any vehicle if it needed to connect to the internet or be of Chinese Origin - especially Boom Whistle whizzz Bang BYD !
Some people are just sheeple well maybe they just don't have the knowledge to understand what Big Tech are doing although if they watch enough scifi movies they might start to get an idea but in the real world its 1000's of times worse !
I do own a Smart phone a Samsung Android Phone A51, no it doesn't use any data except when in the house potentially, I don't ever use any browser, Gmail etc or any apps that try and use data. I use the phone book app, Photo taking app, Photo Gallery app, Phone call app, Text message app and that's about it. People say whats the point of having a smart phone. why dont you just get a keypad phone and I say well basically I like the phone book app over the keypad versions and it has a reasonable camera for taking pics. Oh and I have never put my Bank Card details into my phone as I don't trust it to be secure enough ever !
Maybe this is why I also don't use MS Windows since after 2016 (alas Win 7 64 Pro was the best window ever), Yup Linux was tough back then and although its easy peezy like Windows now with so many DE's available unlike the locked down MS Windows 10,11 and the OS is not a personal data sucking OS or that you will be forced to use AI etc so that it can collect every minuscule piece of personal data that it might have missed before and Linux won't try and get you to store any of your personal data on its cloud servers so it can troll them at its leisure or try to lock you into paying a charge when you when you go beyond 5Gb cloud storage of stored data !
Go go go system76 with POP-OS - The Windows games I play via PROTON in Steam on my 7950X with 6950XT GPU are just as good as it would be in Windows and without any Kernel accessing Anti-Cheat software hooks with potential security issues either !
It would be a simple matter, the administration reasoned, for a foreign company in a nation like China or Russia, where governments "compel companies subject to their jurisdiction … to cooperate with security and intelligence services," according to the proposed rule.
So that would be EXACTLY what the US government is doing right here.
Compelling all car companies 'subject to their jurisdiction ' to cooperate and choose only software that the US government likes.
Just like they compel telcos to not use Chinese network kit, or even sell Huawei handsets.
Pot, meet Kettle.
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