Right-to-Repair causes Subaru to disable telematics in Massachusetts
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Right-to-Repair causes Subaru to disable telematics in Massachusetts
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Re: Right-to-Repair causes Subaru to disable telematics in Massachusetts
#2> The real impact will be the financial handicap that comes with an inability to harvest and then sell customer data to commercial partners.
Handicaps are relative. The carmakers just don’t get to make money a new way. There are many ways they don’t get to make more money. Not an actual problem to anyone.
Re: Right-to-Repair causes Subaru to disable telematics in Massachusetts
#3> Massachusetts' updated law currently requires all vehicles sold within the state (from the 2022 model year onward) using telematics systems to be equipped with a standardized, open-access data platform that would allow customers and unaffiliated mechanics to gain access.
I'm reminded of this iconic speech by Eben Moglen in 2010 [1][2]
"Software flies airplanes."
[1] https://softwarefreedom.org/events/2010/sscl/moglen-software...
Re: Right-to-Repair causes Subaru to disable telematics in Massachusetts
#4> The real impact will be the financial handicap that comes with an inability to harvest and then sell customer data to commercial partners. Handicaps are relative. The carmakers just don’t get to make money a new way. There are many ways they don’t get to make more money. Not an actual problem to anyone.
> The carmakers just don’t get to make money a new way.
Exactly! What ever happened to making money from... selling cars? Or, as is more common, from financing the sale of cars.
Re: Right-to-Repair causes Subaru to disable telematics in Massachusetts
#5> The real impact will be the financial handicap that comes with an inability to harvest and then sell customer data to commercial partners. Handicaps are relative. The carmakers just don’t get to make money a new way. There are many ways they don’t get to make more money. Not an actual problem to anyone.
And importantly, none of their competitors can make money in this way (from MA customers). So car companies that don't aggressively sell customer data are no longer at a financial disadvantage. Seems like a great use of regulation to me.
Re: Right-to-Repair causes Subaru to disable telematics in Massachusetts
#6> The real impact will be the financial handicap that comes with an inability to harvest and then sell customer data to commercial partners. Handicaps are relative. The carmakers just don’t get to make money a new way. There are many ways they don’t get to make more money. Not an actual problem to anyone.
It’s like saying that other private property and privacy laws are all inflicting financial hardships on people who want to sneak into our houses and photograph our family members while they sleep.
Re: Right-to-Repair causes Subaru to disable telematics in Massachusetts
#7> Numerous automakers (e.g. General Motors) have likewise shown presentations stating that data acquisition would soon become an important revenue source for the industry.
Does anyone have any links referencing these presentations?
I know selling data to data brokers is a hot topic, but from my (extremely limited) exposure to this topic in the industry I got the impression that the actual value of such data was almost negligible. Certainly minimal relative to the price tag of a car.
Re: Right-to-Repair causes Subaru to disable telematics in Massachusetts
#8> The real impact will be the financial handicap that comes with an inability to harvest and then sell customer data to commercial partners. Handicaps are relative. The carmakers just don’t get to make money a new way. There are many ways they don’t get to make more money. Not an actual problem to anyone.
> The carmakers just don’t get to make money a new way. Exactly! What ever happened to making money from... selling cars? Or, as is more common, from financing the sale of cars.
They can always move into crypto. NFTs of your warranty and the like.
Re: Right-to-Repair causes Subaru to disable telematics in Massachusetts
#9> The real impact will be the financial handicap that comes with an inability to harvest and then sell customer data to commercial partners. Handicaps are relative. The carmakers just don’t get to make money a new way. There are many ways they don’t get to make more money. Not an actual problem to anyone.
Agreed.
It's like saying, "this nutrition labeling law is handicapping us because we have no idea how much sugar we put in our foods."
There's a difference between a regulation that hampers real innovation and a regulation that hampers people doing the thing the regulation is designed to prevent. The regulation is designed to force automobile manufacturers to only launch invasive features if there's a way for customers to service them. And they're complaining that the regulation... does that thing.
Re: Right-to-Repair causes Subaru to disable telematics in Massachusetts
#10> Numerous automakers (e.g. General Motors) have likewise shown presentations stating that data acquisition would soon become an important revenue source for the industry. Does anyone have any links referencing these presentations? I know selling data to data brokers is a hot topic, but from my (extremely limited) exposure to this topic in the industry I got the impression that the actual value of such data was almos…
Yeah, I wonder too.
Location data has a clear use case, but I get the idea that it's "worth collecting" vs "a goldmine".