The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Honda, Stellantis and other major automakers, called for quick action.
“Right now, Chinese automakers are dumping subsidized vehicles with connected software and hardware around the world,” the group’s CEO John Bozzella wrote Congress in a letter seen by Reuters. “This hasn’t happened inside the U.S. yet, but given the scale and urgency of this threat, we urge you to enact a Chinese vehicle, software and hardware ban before adjourning this year and make this policy the law of the land.”
6 Comments
late_pessimistic@slrpnk.net · 14 pts · 8d
Corporations when free market capitalism:
Feddinat0r@feddit.org · 11 pts · 8d
Well, what is a chinese car?
a car made in US but from a chinese company?
A car made in china but from a us company?
Chais@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 8d
A car with any link to China. Whoops, no more cars.
cerebralhawks@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 8 pts · 8d
If the US (I’m assuming) wants to ban foreign cars, they should ban all of them, not just from one other country. Ban the Japanese and European cars, too.
They shouldn’t, but, no half measures.
OwOarchist@pawb.social · 8 pts · 8d
Two separate issues:
We need privacy, autonomy, and right to repair legislation* for all cars, regardless of where they came from. The worries about Chinese-controlled software on these cars wouldn't be so worrisome if we had that.
Protectionist industries can go fuck themselves. If they can't keep up, they can just go out of business. That's capitalism. "Oh, but what about their workers, who will be out of jobs!" -- well, then subsidize the workers, not the corporation they work for. It's a lot cheaper to make sure the workers are cared for than to keep a failing business afloat.
*To be clear what I mean about that:
Privacy: There should be strict limits on what kind of data a car can collect about its drivers and passengers, how that data is handled, and all cars should have a persistent opt-out option that's reasonably easy to activate.
Autonomy: Car owners should have complete control over the hardware and software on their car. It should not be possible to remotely enable/disable car features, and it should not be possible to force a software update if the car owner opts out of updating. Possibly even require car manufacturers to adopt open standards and publish comprehensive APIs, making it at least theoretically possible to replace a car's software with new software of the owner's choice.
Right to repair: Manufacturers should not intentionally obfuscate any kind of repair or maintenance procedure. Spare parts must be produced and supplied for 10 years, and after those 10 years are over, CAD files and blueprints for those parts must be made publicly available. Must make reasonable effort to use industry standard, interchangeable parts when possible (for example, using normal hex head or torx fasteners, rather than some proprietary new fastener). Must make the car's software available to owners and mechanics, at least to the point where it can be wiped and replaced if necessary. Must not require all service to be done at a manufacturer-controlled shop; must not penalize owners who do their own repairs or get repairs done at an independent shop. If the car requires specialized tools for repairs or maintenance, those tools must be made available for sale at a reasonable price.
CactusEcho@piefed.social · 2 pts · 8d
crony capitalism