How Technology Drives Vehicular Privacy

Technological changes in the past twenty years have contributed to decreased privacy in privately owned vehicles in the United States. This paper presents six areas in which new technologies have privacy-invasive aspects that many people fail to fully appreciate: “black boxes” (EDRs) in cars, traffic cameras, OnStar, GPS transponders attached to cars, EZ-PASS (an RFID-based highway toll system), and proposals for new use taxes based on where and when people drive. This survey is useful in understanding the cumulative effect of new technologies, rather than just examining each in isolation.