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#Maine #RightToRepair Law Poised to Remain in Flux Even After January 2025 Effective Date

December 19, 2024

"The Automotive Right to Repair Working Group convened by the Maine Attorney General will review proposed legislation that would substantially amend provisions of the Maine Right to Repair Law concerning access to mechanical data from #telematics-equipped vehicles. Meanwhile, it appears provisions of the law requiring manufacturers of vehicles that 'use a telematics system” to comply with standards imposed by an “independent entity' designated by the Attorney General will take effect on January 5, 2025, even though neither the 'independent entity' nor standards for telematics systems will exist by that date.

"In November 2023, Maine voters approved a ballot initiative to require that, within one year of the effective date, vehicles using a telematics system sold in that state be equipped with an interoperable, standardized, and owner-authorized access platform across all of the manufacturer's makes and models. The statute requires that this platform be able to 'securely communicate' all 'mechanical data' emanating from the vehicle; make this data 'directly accessible' by the vehicle owner through a mobile-based application; and, upon authorization of the vehicle owner, 'all mechanical data must be directly accessible by an independent repair facility.' The statute gives vehicle owners and independent repair facilities denied access to mechanical data a private right of action to recover treble damages or $10,000, whichever is greater.

"The ballot initiative further requires the Attorney General to designate an 'independent entity' to 'establish and administer' access to vehicle-generated data that is transmitted by a 'standardized access platform.' The 'independent entity' is empowered to refer violations to the Attorney General, who in turn can 'institute an action' to 'enforce' the law, although no remedy for such a violation is defined in the statute. The requirements for telematics-equipped vehicles are supposed to take effect January 5, 2025—one year after the effective date of the ballot initiative—but to date the Maine Attorney General has not designated an 'independent entity' to develop standards or otherwise regulate data access platforms."

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/maine-right-to-repair-law-poised-to-3403488/

U.S. Senators Call Out #AutomotiveExecs for Opposing #RightToRepair

Story by Beverly Braga, December 21, 2024

"The rich get richer, except this time Big Government is fighting for the little guy. Yes, you read that correctly and, no, it makes no sense to me either. Apparently, the exception is right-to-repair laws which are being pushed by—wait for it—a #bipartisan effort that is literally scolding #automakers to quit gatekeeping everything and give consumers access to parts, services, and their own personal vehicle data."

Read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/u-s-senators-call-out-automotive-execs-for-opposing-right-to-repair/ar-AA1whkUj

#USA #Privacy #DataProtection #BigAuto #Surveillance: "US Senator Edward Markey (D-Mass.) is one of the more technologically engaged of our elected lawmakers. And like many technologically engaged Ars Technica readers, he does not like what he sees in terms of automakers' approach to data privacy. On Friday, Sen. Markey wrote to 14 car companies with a variety of questions about data privacy policies, urging them to do better.

As Ars reported in September, the Mozilla Foundation published a scathing report on the subject of data privacy and automakers. The problems were widespread—most automakers collect too much personal data and are too eager to sell or share it with third parties, the foundation found.

Markey noted the Mozilla Foundation report in his letters, which were sent to BMW, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Stellantis, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, and Volkswagen. The senator is concerned about the large amounts of data that modern cars can collect, including the troubling potential to use biometric data (like the rate a driver blinks and breathes, as well as their pulse) to infer mood or mental health."

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/12/automakers-data-privacy-practices-are-unacceptable-says-us-senator/

#Surveillance #Privacy #BigAuto: "A federal judge upheld the dismissal of a class action lawsuit that alleged automakers unlawfully collected and recorded car owners’ text messages, as first reported by The Record. In a ruling on Tuesday, the Seattle-based judge said the claims aren’t severe enough to be considered a violation of the state’s Washington Privacy Act (WPA).

A group of five related class action lawsuits allege that Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen, General Motors, and Ford “recorded and intercepted [car owners’] private text messages and call logs” when their phones were connected to the vehicles’ infotainment systems. The case filed against Ford has already been dismissed, according to The Record.

The federal judge’s ruling states that the district court “properly dismissed” the four remaining cases, adding that they don’t satisfy the WPA’s statutory injury requirement, which says plaintiffs must allege an injury to their person, reputation, or business. “Plaintiffs’ allegation that a violation of the WPA itself is enough to satisfy injury to a ‘person’... without more, is insufficient to meet the statutory requirement,” the ruling says."

https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/9/23953798/automakers-collect-record-text-messages-federal-judge-ruling

#USA #LaborUnions #UAW #BigAuto: "The company knows that Toyota workers are watching,” said United Auto Workers (UAW) president Shawn Fain on November 3. “And when the time comes, Toyota workers and all nonunion auto workers are going to be ready to stand up.”

That time has come — yesterday the UAW announced its plan, already in motion, to organize the whole auto sector. “Workers across the country, from the West to the Midwest and especially in the South, are reaching out to join our movement and to join the UAW,” said Fain in a new video.

The union says thousands of workers have reached out asking for support in unionizing their auto plants. They’ve scoured the old websites from previous union drives and filled out forms to be put in touch with an organizer."

https://jacobin.com/2023/12/uaw-nonunion-factory-organizing-toyota-mercedes-hyundai-rivian/