cross-posted from: https://piefed.world/c/tech/p/1247209/all-cars-sold-in-the-eu-now-require-a-camera-aimed-at-your-face-its-still-not-clear-wher
Starting July 7, 2026, every new car sold in the European Union must include a driver monitoring camera aimed at your face. Glance at your phone, your kids in the back seat, or the radio for too long, and the car will flash a warning light and sound an alert.
Automakers have known this was coming for years. What they, and EU regulators, have never spelled out is what happens to that footage after the alert goes off.
While the intention behind the new system is difficult to dispute, its implementation has raised several concerns. Early real-world testing suggests the distraction warnings can be overly sensitive and potentially distracting.
It’s always dangerous when we try to apply technical solutions to what are essentially social problems. Because then the task isn’t necessarily “how can I improve my behavior”, but it’s “how can I get around this tech”.
I have long believed that this interlock nonsense is really just a way to punish poor people for DUIs while making sure that rich people can still continue to not face consequences for them by paying to get out of jail. After all, it would be cheaper for all involved to just suspend someone’s license entirely (and impound their car), even after they get out of jail. But then there is no opportunity for rich people to use their connections and wealth to get around the rules.
This is the thing. I’m not against using tech to decide if someone is too drunk to drive. But I am against overreliance on tech to infringe the rights of others and possibly put them in danger in order to protect the public. Especially when it comes from people who don’t know how the tech works and have never used it.
If you can’t think critically about how the tech works and what the pros/cons of the tech are, then you don’t necessarily deserve to be able to make decisions like this for the masses.