cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1247209/all-cars-sold-in-the-eu-now-require-a-camera-aimed-at-your-face-its-still-not-clear-wher
Starting July 7, 2026, every new car sold in the European Union must include a driver monitoring camera aimed at your face. Glance at your phone, your kids in the back seat, or the radio for too long, and the car will flash a warning light and sound an alert.
Automakers have known this was coming for years. What they, and EU regulators, have never spelled out is what happens to that footage after the alert goes off.
While the intention behind the new system is difficult to dispute, its implementation has raised several concerns. Early real-world testing suggests the distraction warnings can be overly sensitive and potentially distracting.
My clunkers blue book value is $2,500. I just put $3,000 into it last month to keep it going.
I am in the privileged position of being able to afford the financial costs of a new car, but I can’t abide the privacy costs.
Agreed, the privacy costs of driving modern cars are absurd.
I was doing okay before AI replaced me. I wouldn’t have bought anything I couldn’t have paid for on the day of purchase but I’m glad that I didn’t because unemployed me has to drive even less than work-from-home me did. Pouring $3k into my car would hurt, but not as much as buying a $40k mobile babysitting device that’s going to surveil me everywhere I go.