IHADAV8.com - Turbo Buick Tech, and Nonsense
Tech Area => General Auto Tech => Topic started by: daveismissing on November 14 2013, 11:06:33 AM
-
DRM in Cars Will Drive Consumers Crazy Forget extra cupholders or power windows: the new Renault Zoe comes with a "feature" that absolutely nobody wants (https://blogs.fsfe.org/gerloff/2013/10/31/renault-will-remotely-lock-down-electric-cars/). Instead of selling consumers a complete car that they can use, repair, and upgrade as they see fit, Renault has opted to lock purchasers into a rental contract (http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20131108/09350825182/renault-introduces-drm-cars.shtml) with a battery manufacturer and enforce that contract with digital rights management (DRM) (https://www.eff.org/issues/drm) restrictions that can remotely prevent the battery from charging at all.
We've long joined makers and tinkerers in warning that, as software becomes a part of more and more everyday devices, DRM and the legal restrictions on circumventing it will create hurdles to standard repairs and even operation. In the U.S., a car manufacturer who had wrapped its onboard software in technical restrictions could argue that attempts to get around those are in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) (https://www.eff.org/issues/dmca)—specifically section 1201, the notorious "anti-circumvention" provisions. These provisions make it illegal for users to circumvent DRM or help others do so, even if the purpose is perfectly legal otherwise. Similar laws exist around the world, and are even written into some international trade agreements—including, according to a recently leaked draft (https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/11/tpp-leak-confirms-worst-us-negotiators-still-trying-trade-away-internet-freedoms), the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.
-
I think DRM's on car would end up being something auto makers would regret doing. The market could decide to turn against one company if they try to force stuff doing peoples throat. This is something that in the video game markets has had some effect. The new xbox originally was to use DRM to prevent people from selling or buying games used, and requiring the xbox to even be online just to even function. The sony playstation wasn't going to require this. It created a huge uproar in the gaming community and microsoft had to back off since it was going to affect their sales greatly.
I think you can only get away with having DRM's if the consumer thinks they are getting something extra special to justify it being there. But then again if they all decide to do it, we are screwed regardless.