cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/technology/p/1247241/all-cars-sold-in-the-eu-now-require-a-camera-aimed-at-your-face-its-still-not-clear-wher
cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1247209/all-cars-sold-in-the-eu-now-require-a-camera-aimed-at-your-face-its-still-not-clear-wher
Starting July 7, 2026, every new car sold in the European Union must include a driver monitoring camera aimed at your face. Glance at your phone, your kids in the back seat, or the radio for too long, and the car will flash a warning light and sound an alert.
Automakers have known this was coming for years. What they, and EU regulators, have never spelled out is what happens to that footage after the alert goes off.
While the intention behind the new system is difficult to dispute, its implementation has raised several concerns. Early real-world testing suggests the distraction warnings can be overly sensitive and potentially distracting.
The camera is just the latest thing, there’s a lot more than just that.
So what else is there? I don’t own a car, so I’m a bit out of the loop on this.
Cars these days are run almost entirely by an onboard computer called the ECU, and most components of the car are operated by sub-electronics connected to that ECU. The ECU and sub-components are usually custom to the make and model, any sub-component not functioning as expected will often trigger the ECU to not allow the car to start. Modern cars also record all driver actions and engine data to a ‘black box’ that can be used against the driver by insurance. They also have cell network transceivers that phone home arbitrary data to the manufacturer. Everything is integrated intentionally in such a way that modifying anything has the potential to break everything.
Thanks for the writeup. I’ll guess I’ll continue to avoid owning a car.
This is the smartest move.
Thanks. I’m just hoping rail becomes better.