Government Wants To Stop Chinese Software Spying On American Drivers

The US government is expected to propose a ban on Chinese software in vehicles in an effort to maintain national security. According to Reuters, the ban would prevent the software on Level 3 autonomous vehicles and above from being allowed in the US. It wouldn’t just be production vehicles, but even testing these vehicles on US roads would not be permitted. This follows the recently announced China tariffs which place a 102-percent tariff on all Chinese-made electric vehicles.

Rather than a security issue, that tariff was designed to give American automakers an edge as EVs become more mainstream. The fear of massive numbers of cheap Chinese vehicles coming into the US is a valid one, but those tariffs hit US automakers as well. The auto industry is global and includes manufacturing facilities worldwide. Lincoln builds the Nautilus in China and Buick builds cars there, too. Volvo even recently delayed the EX30 due to the tariffs. Targeting a single country targets automakers everywhere. The same is true when it comes to software.

In The Interest Of National Security

This time around, targeting China isn’t so much about protecting the auto industry in the US. Instead, it’s about ensuring China doesn’t have access to our information. Administrators are not worried the Chinese would know what you order every morning at Starbucks or where you pick up your kids or even where you work, but they are worried about the potential for cars with Chinese software to gather all sorts of data.

Add CarBuzz to your Google News feed.

These vehicles could monitor your calls and your conversations, making anything you say a potential security risk. Again, it’s not the everyday stuff they’re worried about, but depending on who you are, what you say in your car and who you’re speaking to could be highly confidential. The government doesn’t want China to know what all of us are up to all the time, and neither do we as citizens.

Chinese Cars Could Already Be Collecting Our Data

There’s also the possibility that someone other than the driver could take control of a connected vehicle. That’s a serious concern as it could be used to target specific individuals or to simply cause problems on American roads. Chinese companies are already testing vehicles in the US, which means the flow of US data to China is already likely in progress. These cars reportedly drove 450,000 miles in California in the 12 months ending November 2022. Just think of all the potential information that might have been collected by these vehicles.

Related

How Do President Biden’s Tariffs On Chinese EVs Impact Your Wallet?

Just because your car was built in America, doesn’t mean it won’t be impacted.

In addition to preventing Chinese cars from American roads, this ban could also be a problem for other automakers. It would ban any Chinese-developed wireless communications modules, something that could be in cars not made by Chinese companies. In order for automakers to comply, they would need to confirm that none of the software they use comes from China or other countries the government sees as potential security risks.

Nothing has been done yet, but the Bureau of Industry and Security is expected to issue a proposed rule this month. Once issued, the industry would have a chance to review the proposal and make comments, hopefully ensuring that what’s proposed accomplishes its security goals with a minimum of trouble for US automakers.

Source:
Reuters