Smile - You Are On A Camera

There was a lot of privacy - protecting noise when Google was conducting their initial StreetView image scans. Then many countries banned the use of dash cam video recorders. These include many European countries: Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Portugal.

And now we have learned that each Tesla car, spiked with recording video cameras, transmits the video footage, which then has been shared openly. Ars Technica has a full article on that here: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/04/tesla-workers-shared-images-from-car-cameras-including-scenes-of-intimacy/.

Now it really does not matter this is an opt-in feature:

Tesla's customer privacy notice says. "In order for camera recordings for fleet learning to be shared with Tesla, your consent for Data Sharing is required and can be controlled through the vehicle's touchscreen at any time. 

As the driver/owner opting in really means they opt in anyone who happens to be in the field of view of one of these cameras. So should the cars which use camera images for their driver's assistance systems be banned in countries where dash cams are banned?

On the practical side of things though - we have to admit - video recordings of public spaces has already spiraled of of anyone's control. Cameras are everywhere and there is no way to figure out where they send the footage, who stores and manages that footage. We were under the assumption thought that a private home is a privacy bastion. Which it no longer is, especially when you have a Tesla in the garage.