Car manufacturer Tesla has made the settings of built-in security cameras in cars more privacy-friendly, according to the Dutch Personal Data Authority (AP). Tesla did this after the AP launched an investigation into those cameras.
The AP was investigating Tesla’s so-called ‘Sentry Mode’. Sentry Mode is supposed to protect the car from theft or vandalism, for example. It does this by taking images with four cameras on the outside of the car.
By default, when Sentry Mode was enabled, the cameras continuously filmed everything around a parked Tesla and stored 1 hour of footage each time. Due to software updates, the cameras are now off by default. And if the user does turn them on, they now store a maximum of 10 minutes of footage.
‘Filmed without their knowledge’
‘So many Tesla cars parked on the street often filmed everyone who came near the car (like this example from Denmark), and also stored that footage for a very long time. If every car does that, you get a situation where you can no longer walk freely on the street anywhere without being spied on,’ says AP board member Katja Mur.
‘Passers-by were filmed without knowing. The owner of the Tesla could watch that footage back. If he parked the car in front of someone’s window, he could peek in and see what the person was doing. That is a serious invasion of privacy. So it’s good that Tesla itself has also taken a critical look at this and adjusted it.’
Adjustments
Tesla, whose European headquarter is in Holland, informed the Dutch AP that the company made several adjustments after the investigation started. For instance, Sentry Mode now only comes into action when the car is touched. And not as soon as the cameras see any ‘suspicious’ movement around the car. Also, at such a moment, the car does not start filming by default, but the owner only receives a text message on the phone.
The car can still take camera images, but only when the user turns on that feature himself. When the cameras capture images, the car indicates this on the in-car screen. The headlights then also give a special light signal. This way, people know they are being filmed.
Furthermore, the car stores 1 minute of footage as standard. The owner can increase this to 10 minutes if necessary. Finally, the footage already stayed in the car and it is not possible to share the footage with Tesla.
No fine
The AP’s investigation does not result in a fine or other sanction for Tesla. In fact, during the investigation, it emerged that it is not Tesla but the owner of the car who is legally responsible for the images taken by the car.
Mur: ‘But thanks to the adjustments Tesla has made, anyone who happens to walk past such a car is protected. Tesla is also thereby reducing the chances of Tesla drivers breaking the law by illegally filming people.’
Rules for cameras
For cameras built into a car, the same rules apply as for cameras that people install around their homes, for example. In principle, it is forbidden to film the public road. Only in exceptional cases are people allowed to deliberately point cameras at public spaces. For example, if there are serious security problems, and car break-ins are frequent in the neighbourhood. It is always the responsibility of the owner of the camera to adjust it correctly and respect other people’s privacy.
Photo: Tesla Model 3 side camera by Anatolie Nicolae
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
