[RahulNagaraj]

According to media reports, Tesla employees passed around sensitive videos of owners, recorded by the car's multiple cameras. The videos were reportedly shared by employees via the company's internal messaging systems from 2019 through 2022.

Reports state that video recordings shared by the Tesla workers range from graphic car crashes to road rage incidents and even some sensitive clips. Some employees reportedly even created memes based on the car camera recordings and shared them in other private chat groups. One former Tesla employee mentioned that the videos were being recorded even when the vehicle was turned off. This means employees having access to the videos could see inside the owner's garage and their private properties.



While Tesla was turning off the vehicle's cameras by default by 2023, the company previously had a policy which allowed them to receive recordings from non-running vehicles if the customer signed off on it. An investigation by the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) found that Tesla vehicles "were filming everyone who came near the car".

Tesla launched the 'Sentry Mode' in 2019, as a way to alert drivers of any suspicious activity when their vehicles are parked. The car would record and store the incident in its onboard memory. In 2021, the company updated the feature, allowing drivers to live stream their car's surroundings from the Tesla App. Tesla clarified that the recordings from the Sentry Mode weren't transmitted to them and are exclusive to the driver, via end-to-end encryption. However, after the investigation by DPA, the company tweaked the privacy settings with the camera now set to start recording only when someone touches the car. Tesla now also flashes its headlights to warn passersby that it is recording.

Source: Reuters

Link to Team-BHP news

[theflyingguy]

This is highly concerning. Recording videos from hundreds of thousands of cars and using it for personal fun is an absolute no-no. Employees sharing them on internal chat apps means that almost everyone in the company knew that this is happening & still chose to ignore the same. This stinks at every level including the top of the corporate ladder.

This means that many private moments, property details, financial details & everything else that happens in & around car was recorded. Who knows that some of them may have been using it to intentionally spy on other individuals.

Looks like Tesla needs to be ready for multiple lawsuits & rightfully so.

[raptor_diwan]

It's possible that similar activities are happening in other companies, like Facebook and Instagram, where employees may be sharing our personal conversations or private images on their personal group chats for entertainment. We cannot assume that company workers will maintain complete confidentiality. Perhaps another movie, like the Snowden documentary, should be produced to provide a more detailed explanation.

I believe that incidents like this are inevitable and occur in all businesses, from Airtel to Tesla, since access to these types of videos is crucial for improving their AI or overall service quality. However, such actions are unacceptable, and there should be strict measures to prevent them. Even if employees find one or two controversial videos amusing, they should be aware that such actions have consequences. As someone who worked at Airtel, I can confirm that such incidents are frequent and expected.

[N.A.GTC]

A glaring example of why we need strong privacy laws, and the need to advocate against unnecessary integration of internet, cameras, etc. where not required. 'Internet of Things' has not been as useful for consumers as advertised and needs to be discarded - it only leads to a dystopian-corporate, data accumulation nightmare. Any regular consumer good (fridge, car, juicer, whatever) which claims to be "Smart" and "Internet Enabled" needs to be very, very closely scrutinised.

[GTO]

While I understand that privacy today is a myth, this is outrageous! It's the main reason why I'd never be okay with a "connected" camera in my car, especially by the OEM. If I need a camera, a dashcam without any internet connection would be my choice. India's privacy laws aren't really strict enough to prevent car manufacturers out here from such malpractices.

All big corporations can be rascals. Remember the limits Amazon pushed with the Alexa speaker.

This thread just reminded me that my home (common areas only), office & building CCTV system is from a big Chinese player. God knows what information could've been extracted by now.

[Axe77]

This is indeed outrageous and like some have mentioned, another reason why you need really strong privacy laws, both internationally and domestically. “Signing off” on standard terms simply can’t be enough and you MUST have opt “IN” clauses which are clearly explained, with the default position being opt out. Even so, bear in mind the risk of such data getting hacked into by third parties can’t ever be completely ruled out.

Having said the above, this is honestly the very unfortunate reality today with connected devices (I’m not saying acceptable - just that it’s a reality and something that needs to be arrested and course corrected).

I’d say if you have a modern TV too, with a camera / Wi-Fi connectivity etc, you should be assuming that the camera can be functioning at any and all times. If you’ve got a modern smart TV in your bedroom for instance, you’d do well to consider covering it when its not in use - I mean literally covering it. Its not just misuse by employees that’s a risk - its also the risk of getting hacked into.

[vb-saan]

I am not surprised at all. When your car becomes a bigger version of your smartphones, the related perils (intrusion, lack of privacy) etc. also gets bigger. And trust Tesla to be the most eccentric in that lot. I like some of their cars (e.g., Model 3), but I will think twice before buying something from this brand.

I believe the next big set of privacy laws will in the connected auto technology space. Privacy is one thing, it could be even that a disgruntled individual can hack into a car’s system and take control, or create an accident.

[treyazaghtoth]

There are several other intrusive privacy issues that could arise with the increased use of connected cars and the data they collect.

a) Location tracking: Connected cars can track their location and movements through GPS technology. While this information is necessary for navigation and other functions, it could also be used to monitor a driver's movements, potentially invading their privacy.

b) Biometric data: Some cars are equipped with sensors that can track a driver's biometric data, such as heart rate and breathing patterns. This data could be used to determine a driver's emotional state, potentially allowing for targeted advertising or other intrusive uses.

c) Remote control : The risk is the possibility of the car being hacked into and remotely controlled , as any connected device can be susceptible to cyber attacks.

d) Access to personal data: Connected cars can collect a wide range of personal data, including phone numbers, email addresses, and even social media profiles. This isn't something that I am comfortable with.

To be frank, initially I was all hyped about EV's, but reports like this dampen my enthusiasm.

I'll leave off, with a social media post about Tesla owners, synchronising they're driving lights to the song from RRR.
If driving lights can be programmed, it means there are other circuits, that can also be programmed .
Since these cars are 'internet enabled' , it's just a question of time, until somebody figures out a way to hack into the car, and assume control

[karanddd]

This is horrifying to be honest. Why does the car have a camera pointing into the cabin anyway? If you have a camera pointing towards you and that camera is part of a large, complex computer, there is no foolproof way of ensuring that nothing gets "seen" (aside from of course covering the lens itself). This is why people put tape over their webcam lenses. I do not feel comfortable with a camera pointing towards me in any situation. For most people a car is a fairly intimate, private place, to have it violated like this is not too different from having a camera in your bedroom or hotel room.

[Freespirit27]

This was bound to happen and it will soon be the next, I'm so shocked!' exclamation in the connected cars environment. Whenever a net based data service is provided the natural need for access to wider database for machine learning exists. Now this data has to go to some server and cannot remain isolated if some learning has to happen!
Whether it is Alexa, Ok Google, Siri or Ramu kaka or any net based voice or biometric/facial recognition feature, it just means that the input sensor is on passive watch, listening for the keyword, phrase or face input. So it has access even when it does not use the inputs.
The ethics vs tech necessity debate can go on and on but nothing of net based service is, 'secure and free!' If you don't give money they will definitely use your data, else they might use your data.
The Tesla case seems like a rights violation, but frankly I won't be surprised if it turns out to be a much deeper invasion of privacy issue.
Meanwhile if you value privacy - keep physical camera covers and give minimal net based voice activated feature permissions on phones and car based apps.

[Hulk]

Originally Posted by GTO

This thread just reminded me that my home (common areas only), office & building CCTV system is from a big Chinese player. God knows what information could've been extracted by now.

If it’s HikVision, they are Chinese government owned and have been officially into spying. My apartment cameras are also HikVision :(

They have very aggressive pricing with good quality, so lot of people and organisations tend to go with them. But it’s only the Chinese gov backing which allows them to price low. It’s a well thought of strategy to have eyes everywhere in the world with very little investment.

[Vkap257]

As GTO rightfully said, privacy is the greatest myth today and we can only save ourselves to an extent by applying common sense. We are constantly being monitored, tracked, logged and registered in various databases. Thanks to powerful hardware, individual profiles are being maintained by each and every entity on us, many times over.

They track is to understand our patterns and then throw advertisements at us, modify their business strategies and predict the next big thing. They don’t care about basic moral values. Forget Tesla, I am also vary of the humdrum Rs.10,000 android aftermarket stereo installed in every basic econobox. Who knows what it collects from it’s GPS and account logins.

I am in the lending industry and have firsthand witnessed a customer of ours demonstrating his house filled with hidden cameras and his best-selling product to DMRC which tags and logs faces going in and out of metro gates.

In this market, the right set of regulations - with healthy discussion on the freedom of speech aspect- is the need of the hour. I laud the venerable RBI as an example. Considering that today phishing and social engineering scams are so widespread, the conservative approach of the central bank with measures such as 2 factor authentication and app controlled limits work as lifesavers for us technologically noob audience.

I had never trusted Paytm, however I am using it now as the only account added to that is my Deutsche Bank account. That is the only bank which calls me up even at 3 am to enquire weather the Rs10 ( I was snacky) transaction I did on paytm is legit or not!

These cameras will proliferate our lives more and more, in form of drowsiness detectors, camera based IRVMs, 360 cameras, video call cameras in infotainments etc. In today’s “Internet Inside” connected cars, I don’t know how many cameras I will be able to apply tape over.