Automobile manufacturers and drivers are increasingly threatened with penalties from data protection authorities because of the use of cameras on board. “We have already issued various fines, but of course we are far from catching everyone,” said Michael Will, President of the Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision, WELT AM SONNTAG. The recording of images of bystanders is prohibited in Germany without their consent, but systems such as Tesla’s so-called guard mode or “dashcams” still allow this.
In these cases, Will sees a “deficit in enforcement” and an “deficit in information for the user.” According to the data protection officer, “there should be several warning signs ‘Caution, video surveillance’ on every appropriately equipped vehicle and information on who gets the data and where you can lodge an objection”. to be appropriate. But he doesn’t think that “customers will be thrilled if there are warning signs on every new luxury car.”
The Federal Consumer Association (VZBV), which filed a lawsuit against Tesla in July, considers using the sentry mode in compliance with data protection regulations to be “practically impossible”. When asked by WELT AM SONNTAG, the association announced possible steps against other companies: “We are currently also examining the offers of other car manufacturers and will issue further warnings if necessary,” says the VZBV. There are also a lack of criteria and functioning controls for the anonymous use of video data from the car.
