Does That Make It Okay for American-Made Cars to Spy on Us as Well?  If Chinese-made cars are “surveillance packages on wheels,” as one U.S. senator warns, then Americans should ask a harder question: Why are we comfortable driving surveillance packages built at home? Why You Currently Can’t Buy Chinese Cars China’s BYD electric cars are a marvel. Well-crafted with roomy interiors, stuffed with lots of high-tech bells and whistles, and efficient charging, they would, if sold in the United States, provide tough competition to American-made electric cars. But you cannot buy a BYD in the U.S. market. They are still banned under a Biden-era rule forbidding Chinese automotive software and hardware, along with a prohibitive 100-percent tariff on Chinese cars. Now President Trump is reported to be considering a deal with PRC leader Xi Jinping to allow China to enter into U.S. joint ventures with American automakers to make them here. A Bill to Outright Ban Chinese Cars Enter Sens. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who have introduced the Connected Vehicle Security Act, which would ban Chinese-made connected vehicles and their hardware and software components from the American market. What do they mean by “connected”? These senators note that Chinese-made cars can collect, process, and transmit the geolocation, operational, and personal information of drivers and passengers. That is why Sen. Slotkin, who served in the Central Intelligence Agency before entering politics, called Chinese cars “surveillance packages on wheels, with the ability to collect on American citizens and sensitive sites.” The bill’s language not only targets these cars for their espionage potential, but also – more alarmingly – for the possibility of their “remote takeover” on American roads. It is likely no coincidence that these two senators are from two states known for their U.S. car plants and large electoral blocs of American autoworkers. Sen. Moreno, who owned car dealerships before his election, said that “the fate of the American auto industry and countless autoworkers depends on” a ban on Chinese cars. Clearly, protectionist sentiment is at play here. But it is also undeniable that Sen. Slotkin is right – Chinese-made goods incorporate surveillance as a feature, not a bug. As we’ve reported, even Chinese-made toasters and baby monitors are a concern. With cars, as with toasters, “Made in China” should come with the warning “Watching from China.” American Cars Are “Surveillance Packages on Wheels,” Too The senators’ proposal overlooks the built-in surveillance features of cars made in America, as well as those from friendly allies like Japan, Korea, and Germany. Cars to be sold next year must adhere to the Biden-era drunk driver detection systems. In a new car in 2027, if you appear to be impaired – perhaps rattled because you urgently need to drive someone to the ER – you might find your car disabled by a kill switch. Privacy advocates are alarmed by proposals to use cameras and microphones to scan drivers for signs of impairment. Would conversations be recorded and kept in a database? Would every passenger be logged as well? Even now, the seats in our cars record our weight, and our GPS systems and tire-pressure monitoring systems track, record, and report where we go. Given China’s recent behavior, skepticism about Chinese software and hardware on the roads is well deserved. And certainly Xi’s regime is nothing if not malevolent toward America. But let’s not kid ourselves – automotive surveillance is a Made-in-America threat to privacy, too. Congress should hit the brakes – or at least establish guardrails – on the surveillance systems in the cars we already drive every day. Comments are closed.
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