European Intelligence Agencies Prepare To Surveil Car Metadata

by Thomas O’Reilly | European Conservative

A powerful network of policing agencies, regulators, and industrialists is deciding on the ethics and regulatory framework by which authorities can use the data gathered from motor vehicles. German intelligence agencies in particular are demanding that Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen insert the required interfaces to enable the surveillance.

According to German press reports, meetings between car manufacturers and law enforcement have been ongoing since spring. Intelligence agencies are demanding real-time data on a car’s location, driver history, and even the number of people sitting in the vehicle at any one time.

The surveillance of data generated by cars is a legal grey area, despite a EU ruling in January 2023 to standardize data collection processes, enabling judges and prosecutors to access information on demand, by mandating that companies have ten days to respond to official requests. Read Full Article >