this post was submitted on 03 May 2026
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Privacy

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Ford Can Lock You Out of Your Own Car (youtu.be)
submitted 1 day ago by honesthenery@thelemmy.club to c/privacy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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Cross posted from https://thelemmy.club/post/48630530

Ford just filed a patent for a truck that monitors your face, your eyes, your emotions, and your "fitness to drive", and won't let you use it if the AI thinks you're not calm enough. You pay for it. You have the title. But Ford decides if you actually get to drive it. Live feeds to insurance companies. Biometric scans running against criminal databases. Microphones capturing every conversation.

This is what happens when the DADSS precedent (mandatory car monitoring for drunk driving) opens the door for scope creep. Manufacturers aren't waiting for public debate. They're filing patents and building the infrastructure right now.

In this episode of The Long Game, we break down Ford's specific patent claims, explore what the monitoring system actually does, and explain why this matters for ownership, disability access, privacy, and your future. This is the second domino. And it's already falling.

๐Ÿ“Œ Sources & Further Reading:

Ford Patent US20240249706A1 โ€” patents.google.com/patent/US20240249706A1 Right to Repair Movement & Control โ€” eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/right-repair-movement-and-threat-right-manipulate John Deere Right to Repair Fight โ€” eff.org/news/right-repair-fight-expanding Facial Recognition Bias Study โ€” nytimes.com/2018/02/09/technology/facial-recognition-race-bias.html BMW Heated Seats Subscription โ€” theverge.com/2022/7/12/23211500/bmw-subscription-fee-heated-seats-us-plans

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[โ€“] JelloBrains@piefed.zip 9 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

This or similar is coming to every vehicle sold in the United States, Congress mandated passive monitoring for impaired driving in 2021, and didn't stop the funding of it this year, and that means NHTSA is supposed to issue a rule and this will go into affect in 2027 and probably be fully implemented a few years after the rule is issued.

The silver lining I guess, unless they change the law, is that a mechanic, dealer, or manufacturer may not disable a "safety" feature as mandated by US law/NHTSA rule, but the person that owns the vehicle can. I look forward to the internet finding out how to do this appropriately, I don't want any future car I might get monitoring and selling my data to the highest bidder, or Lexis Nexis. The catch here is that automakers are likely to claim it's a software thing and that the DMCA anti-circumvention rules apply... at which point, I'd argue just buy a decent old car and learn how to keep it going whether by working on it yourself or saving up to take it to somebody.

[โ€“] honesthenery@thelemmy.club 3 points 19 hours ago

on all fronts I feel as if I am getting painted into a corner