Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Unexplored or Scarcely Explored Ethical Problems With Modern Cars Containing Proprietary Software That Drivers Cannot Remove/Replace

The case for Free software in cars (or the case against computerised vehicles, in general)

Cars
The hidden cost of shallow 'novelty'; Who controls the car other than the software that runs in it?



Summary: Proprietary software which is being remotely updated by third parties (untrusted companies, sometimes even malicious and unauthorised actors) can pose a threat to both drivers and passengers

THE folks lurking in our IRC channels have likely seen this recurring theme; cars and the things that nowadays go into new cars concern us. It's not limited to what insurance companies are doing; drivers aren't the sole targets of surveillance and remote control, either. Passengers in cars too are affected.



There are several dimensions to this problem, or several separable aspects. Spying in cars is a big and largely unexplored issue; but it's not the only one. Many of today's cars can be remotely controlled; if not by design, then by cracking, which in turn replaces the software that runs inside a car. The schemes by which this is done are kept under the veil of "national security" (see for example Vault 7 and Vault 8, especially the codenames/operations that relate to software in cars).

"Cars can be easily isolated; many assassinations have historically been carried out in remote places without eyewitnesses."The digitalisation rather than mechanisation (in the physical sense) of car components and their controllers -- including windows, brakes, blinkers etc. -- should be a cause for concern if it's all proprietary software. A few years ago, following the wave of trucks running over crowds in terror attacks, suggestions were made for remote controls (or software-based controls) over the brakes; even without remote controls, or direct controls, the ability to remotely modify the software on a vehicle (such as a truck) should alarm us. Forcing the brakes to kick in, or conversely preventing them from working, is route towards remote assassination with no black box to enable forensics. It's even worse if the pedal for throttling can be tinkered remotely. Use your imagination to picture scenarios where forcing brakes to kick in (or not kick in) and forcing down the gas pedal (or the opposite) would enable assassination, given the right timing. Steering being tinkered would be a lot more difficult to do covertly because of the way steering wheels are physically attached to actual wheels*. But no need to steer people off the road to kill them if speed can be controlled.

Of course assassination is one of many aspects; it's the most extreme (edge) scenario, but it's worth entertaining (nonetheless!) because assassination by governments isn't just a theoretical thing, not even in supposedly 'civilised' societies. Even journalists are being targeted for their work and opinions. Cars can be easily isolated; many assassinations have historically been carried out in remote places without eyewitnesses.

Regarding privacy, today's cars 'emit' an enormous amount of data about drivers and passengers. As Ryan put it moments ago in IRC: "With Google selling data to third parties, maybe you even get spied on by insurance companies anyway for using Waze or Google Maps and just don't even consider it. They do a lot of nasty things in the background. They're not developing these apps for free."

"In the future, hypothetically at least, it's also possible that cars will be universally chipped for satellite communications that track cars' movement (even well outside the reach of plate readers) and charge people in the name of "carbon footprint" or "congestion reduction", in effect subjecting everybody to eternal surveillance (as long as there's satellite signal), no matter if they carry a 'smart' phone inside the car or have a computer inside the car."Speaking for myself, double standards or hypocrisy would probably not be an issue; I used to drive, my licence is still up to date (entirely valid), but I've not owned a car in years. Given the types of cars they sell nowadays, I wouldn't be tempted to buy one either.

This post is part of the series, which we'll resume some other day. Software freedom matters a lot more when your actual movements are controlled by software, even at a high and potentially lethal velocity. There have long been discussions about pacemakers that run proprietary software (and can in theory be remotely modified to assassinate a person), but not many people have a pacemaker inside them compared to the number of people who drive so-called 'smart' cars (that proportion is quickly growing because people no longer get to reject those gimmicks; they come with the car whether you want them or not). In the future, hypothetically at least, it's also possible that cars will be universally chipped for satellite communications that track cars' movement (even well outside the reach of plate readers) and charge people in the name of "carbon footprint" or "congestion reduction", in effect subjecting everybody to eternal surveillance (as long as there's satellite signal), no matter if they carry a 'smart' phone inside the car or have a computer inside the car. With the relentless promotion of "autonomous vehicles" or 'self-driving' (misnomer) vehicles -- a trend that superficial media hype is suddenly rooting for in recent years -- we risk having our locations being used to discriminate or even completely suspend the cars depending on where we go (or denying navigation towards particular places, e.g. to discourage attendance in a nonviolent protest). ____ * Ryan later corrected me, asserting that: "Many new car designs have full power steering controlled by motors that are controlled by software. There's no longer any link at all between the steering wheel and the steering system. If the system goes out, you have no control over the car at all. It's incredibly dangerous. There's also no physical link between the accelerator and the throttle since about 2004 or 2005 on many cars. It's just a sensor. A car with little/no computer controlled components can just end up being repaired indefinitely and kept in service. That's not what they want. They want to sell more new cars. The Waukegan Police even still use Impalas that are as old as mine (2000-2004 style) and they still work. They hand them to ancillary tasks, like probation going out to check on people. The actual cops drive stuff that's newer."

Recent Techrights' Posts

Hate Mail From Anonymous Cowards
if this persists, we'll need to escalate
Informal Open Letter to the Lawyer of the Microsofters (on Who's Funding the SLAPPs Against Techrights)
Whenever I ask about the funding they try to change the subject and act all aggressive
Microsoft Lunduke is Just Provoking People for Provocation's Sake
Be forewarned and remember where this guy came from: Microsoft
 
Links 09/08/2025: Putin Allegedly to Visit Alaska (Which He Deems Part of Russia), Mike Tyson Sued for Copyright Infringement
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Linux Journal, LinuxSecurity, and Google News With Its Slopfarms of Choice
SEO spam, made with LLMs
Follow the Money: The Register MS Gets Paid to Promote "Hey Hi" Ponzi Scheme/Hype, Some Fake 'Articles' Might Be Composed by LLMs Already
paid to promote slop
Gemini Links 09/08/2025: Rethinking Aliases and Posting on Gopher vs. the Web
Links for the day
Links 09/08/2025: Apollo 13 Astronaut Jim Lovell Dies, Slop Future Bleak
Links for the day
After Shutting Down Studios, Divisions, Applications (e.g. Skype) Microsoft is Also Shutting Down 'Apps'
Cuts all around as layoffs persist this month, Microsoft tries to get many people to resign, and debt skyrockets
Most of Geminispace Can Probably Fit on a CD-ROM or a DVD (the Textual Part)
If one excludes very large capsules and ones that contain non-textual contenty
Eventually UEFI 'Secure Boot' Will be Dropped (Users Will Demand Its Removal and Boycott Its Pushers)
we expect OEMs will just listen to users
The Register MS: We Know Slop is a Bubble and Mindless Hype, But We Get Paid to Participate
Call out the culprits
There Are Probably Over a Million Pages in Geminispace
there are two many limitations which merit a mention when it comes to assessing magnitude
Besieged by Plagiarists Who Play With LLMs and Image Fusions
We really need to exercise or use our collective voice to oppose Serial Sloppers
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 08, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, August 08, 2025
Gemini Links 09/08/2025: Water Painting and Political Violence
Links for the day
Slopwatch: LLM Sloppers in Google News, LinuxSecurity, and More
they also perpetuate some falsehoods as the LLMs lack any comprehension
Links 08/08/2025: China King of Plastics and US Dictator Plans to Meet Russian Dictator
Links for the day
Gemini Links 08/08/2025: Cracking a Family Member's Password and Overdose of Slop
Links for the day
Red Hat's Latest Talent Hunt, Day Ahead of Mass Layoffs, is Yet Another Microsoft Executive
Red Hat will apparently commence mass layoffs early this coming Monday
Links 08/08/2025: "Quit Facebook" and High Cost of Microsoft/Windows Shown Again ("BlackSuit")
Links for the day
Good Morning, Readers of The Register MS
Things The Register MS could (but does not) cover this morning
Why Gemini Protocol Has a Bright Future
Maybe Gemini Protocol's promise becomes more appealing as the Web turns to slop and bloat
It's a Lot Easier to Participate in the Unethical System Than to Oppose Injustices in It
Going after powerful and high-budget interests is never easy
Microsofters Filed Two SLAPPs Against Us, Now They Cannot Keep Up With Judges' Orders
For over 4 months already their facilitator in London has been under investigation by British authorities because of what's being done to my wife and I
Censorship Regarding Red Hat Layoffs
Talk about this? They'd rather not.
Struggling to Cut Costs, Microsoft Continues Shutting Down and Cancelling Stuff This Month
There are August layoffs at Microsoft
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, August 07, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, August 07, 2025
Fake 'Linux' Articles, Written by Bots to Take Traffic Away From Real Articles
LLM slop helps replace information with junk or misinformation
When Google's Googlebombing of "Gemini" Was Not Enough; They Now Also Googlebomb "Gemini Space"?
We know GAFAM not only worries about Gemini Protocol but also attempts to 'infiltrate' Geminispace
The Register MS Promotes Microsoft Slop, Assumes All Readers Use Microsoft Windows
Microsoft really dominates the site
Gemini Links 08/08/2025: KDE/Qt Development and What's Missing From "Retro"
Links for the day
Links 07/08/2025: US Punishes India Instead of Russia, Attacks Law Firms to Prevent Scrutiny
Links for the day
Read Us in Geminispace as Well
it's definitely a lot simpler than using a Web browser
Once a Site About BSD and GNU/Linux, and After Months of Silence, LinuxBSDos.com Comes Back Only as a Slopfarm
very frustrating
Links 07/08/2025: Hardware Wars, Mass Recall of Colgate Total Clean Mint, More Microsoft Holes Found
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/08/2025: "Right To Manage" and LoRa Analysis
Links for the day
For the First Time in a Month OSI's "OpenSource.org" Blogs and It's Basically a Microsoft Blog Post (Microsoft Controls OSI)
For the first time in a month OSI writes something and it is Microsoft propaganda composed by a Microsoft-salaried operative
Microsoft, Already Borrowing 3 Billion Dollars a Month, is Trying to Cause Many People to Resign
MSN (i.e. Microsoft) and others openly admit it
GAFAM 'Says' is Front Page "News"
The point of journalism is to check and assess facts, not parrot what people and companies merely claim
Links 07/08/2025: Apple Makes False Promises, More Trouble for Microsoft
Links for the day
OSS Didn't Always Mean Open Source Software
"oligarchs all the way down"
The Register MS Does More Microsoft Sez or GitHub Sez (Says) Pieces
60 minutes ago
They Want Activists to Just Barely Walk and Eat, Not Do Activism Anymore
It's sort of like the ending of '1984'
Quit Perpetuating the Narrative of Gemini Protocol 'Dying' (It's False)
The "whisper campaign" against Gemini Protocol
Criticising Social Control Media in Social Control Media
Many people are quitting Social Control Media (fewer of them announce this in public)
Non-Free JavaScript Programs in Banks Aren't Even the Biggest Problem
Technology was supposed to make life easier; in practice, however, for most of us the opposite effect can be observed
Slopfarms Are Typically Fake News
Slopfarms typically relay falsehoods
Gemini Links 06/08/2025: Replacing a Pocket Watch and Buying in Bulk
Links for the day
IBM is Obliterating Fedora
"Fedora releases were shipping with an increasing number of bugs on launch day even while I was using it for a several year stretch."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, August 06, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, August 06, 2025