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      Automakers’ data privacy practices “are unacceptable,” says US senator

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Monday, 4 December - 15:20

    A person sits in a car holding a smartphone, the screen reads

    Enlarge (credit: Getty Images)

    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.

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      White House scrambles to address global chip shortage

      Eric Bangeman · news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Friday, 12 February, 2021 - 15:12

    Ford has cut production at its Chicago facility from three shifts to one as a global chip shortage takes a toll on the car industry.

    Enlarge / Ford has cut production at its Chicago facility from three shifts to one as a global chip shortage takes a toll on the car industry. (credit: Scott Olson | Getty Images)

    The Biden administration has pledged to take immediate action to address a global shortage of semiconductors that has forced the closure of several US car plants.

    Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, said the administration was "identifying potential chokepoints in the supply chain" after coming under pressure from lawmakers, semiconductor companies and car manufacturers over the shortages.

    A surge in demand for consumer electronics during the pandemic has led to the shortage of chips, which has been exacerbated in the US by sanctions on SMIC, the Chinese chipmaker.

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