U.S. Representative Maloy Raises Concerns Over Surveillance Technology Mandate in New Cars
U.S. Representative Celeste Maloy of Utah has voiced concerns regarding a federal mandate enacted in 2021 that requires surveillance technology in new vehicles. This mandate aims to combat drunk driving, which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports causes 32 deaths daily. However, Maloy, along with other lawmakers and consumer privacy experts, believes these technologies present opportunities for abuse. U.S. Representative Michael Cloud of Texas echoed these sentiments during a June 3rd House appropriations committee hearing, questioning the usage, ownership, and potential sale of the collected data. Companies like Smart Eye are developing this automotive surveillance tech, which includes features such as driver detection, distractiveness, dizziness, attention, dangerous behavior, object detection, activity detection, body posture, and facial expression analysis. Despite the pushback, Sheila Lockwood, who lost a family member to drunk driving, advocates for the technology, claiming it c...