this post was submitted on 01 Jan 2024
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VW wouldn't help locate car with abducted child because GPS subscription expired (arstechnica.com)
submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 26 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I see. A cop can call up VW and get your car's location whenever they want, even if you've cancelled any sort of tracking service.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 10 months ago (2 children)

If the owner of the car is consenting to have it tracked, I don't see the problem here. Why do you make it sound like the police overreached?

[–] ArbiterXero 13 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I seriously doubt vw cares if the owner consents.

In this case, they absolutely did, and it didn’t matter . I would bet that the reverse is true and that if they absolutely don’t consent, it still doesn’t matter.

[–] [email protected] -5 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

I guess I'd like to believe car telemetry is governed like any other resource police have access to. Investigators can ask email services for logs, phone providers for location data, banks for transaction records, but would all require a warrant.

Owner consent changes the discussion significantly, especially with something this time sensitive. If my kid is kidnapped I absolutely want them to get access as quickly as possible, not waste time waiting on a judge. That should include cooperation and reactivating an expired subscription as part of supporting the investigation.

[–] ArbiterXero 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I take it you haven’t seen the latest articles on police access to prescriptions……

It all depends on the company deciding that they value your privacy over government money.

[–] aelwero 3 points 10 months ago

You're assuming you still own your personal information... You should, but in reality you don't (stated in this specific context, but I do mean it in a broader sense as well. Much broader than should be) .

They don't need a warrant if the company consents... Its your personal information, but the company owns it. They can and do sell it, and the decision on wether to give it to law enforcement is on them.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago

My comment isn't specific to this incident.