Al Ritter
We all know by now that “big brother” is watching us
constantly. Daily the government thinks up new ways to invade our privacy to
obtain more “data.” I’ve often told friends that it isn’t a Conspiracy Theory
if it’s proven to be true.
Such is the case for a new law buried on purpose into
a larger bill, whose wording purposely shines no light on the hidden bill’s
naming. The bill HR3684 signed into law is entitled the 2021 Infrastructure
Investment Jobs Act is one of those deceptively named bills. Buried in Section
24220 it requires auto manufactures to install a passive monitor system to
assess driver performance by 2026. A massive amount of information is already
logged into a car’s computer but this requirement invades our privacy even
more.
They go on to say these new systems are intended to
monitor a driver for impairment aka drunk driving and for drug use. These new
systems can possibly monitor facial recognition, driving irregularities and
even sensitive sensors on the steering wheel to monitor alcohol through the
skin! They may even sniff the cabin for alcohol and other drugs.
This is where the law gets into a grey area. The
Supreme Court has already ruled that a person has “an expectation to privacy”
in their own car. In much the same way some states require two party consent to
be recorded either by voice, video or both, this law would violate that very
right. This doesn’t even begin to address the violation of warrantless search.
The subsection goes on to expound on the so called “passive”
system to include the ability to kill the engine for violations. If you think
that can’t happen at all, I beg to differ, the GM On Star has had the ability
to remotely do several functions for almost two decades. You have heard about
cops chasing a stolen vehicle and the On Star system has been able to shut off
the ignition. Or a call from a vehicle owner who has locked their keys in the
car, On Star can remotely unlock the doors.
So this technology isn’t new, but now this goes to the
next level of invasion of privacy.
Now the question is who actually has access to this
sort of information? Police, insurance companies or hackers?
If you think this is all impossible think back just a
few years ago to insurance companies that offered you a discount for “good
driving, “ all you have to do is place a little device into your ALDL connector
(device that monitors engine function) along with GPS coordinates. Now you are
beginning to see the whole picture.
Watch the video from the Hampton Criminal Defense Law
Firm here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwaVO1sPFi8&feature=youtu.be
