NewsMine — security — bigbrother — Viewing Item

California driving privacy law { September 23 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/23/politics/23CRAS.html http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/23/politics/23CRAS.html September 23, 2003 Privacy Law in California Shields Drivers By MATTHEW L. WALD WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 — California today adopted the nation's first law meant to protect the privacy of drivers whose cars are equipped with "black boxes," or data recorders that can be used to gather vital information on how a vehicle is being driven in the last seconds before a crash. Gov. Gray Davis signed the law, which takes effect on July 1, requiring carmakers to disclose the existence of such devices and forbidding access to the data without either a court order or the owner's permission, unless it is for a safety study in which the information cannot be traced back to the car. More than 25 million cars and trucks have the boxes that measure speed, air-bag deployment and the use of brakes, seat belts and turn signals. But California's privacy law is the first of its kind, says Thomas M. Kowalick, co-chairman of a committee convened by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers to set standards for the boxes. Most of the recorders are on General Motors vehicles, but Ford and others have deployed some. Other manufacturers have plans to do the same. The police in South Dakota sought information from such a recorder to determine whether Bill Janklow, a member of the House of Representatives and a former governor of the state, had run a stop sign and was speeding on Aug. 16 when he hit and killed a motorcycle rider near Flandreau. But Maj. James Carpenter of the South Dakota Highway Patrol said that because the car was not a recent model — it was a 1995 Cadillac — it had limited information. The California bill was introduced by Tim Leslie, a Republican assemblyman, who contended that the devices were installed without the owner's knowledge or consent and that the information they gathered should be subject to the same legal protections as provided by the Fourth Amendment for other kinds of private information. He compared it to the process for getting permission to tap a telephone. Mr. Leslie's legislative director, Kevin O'Neill, said in a telephone interview that in the case of a crash that resulted in civil litigation or criminal prosecution, the data would be obtainable by court order. But the information should be protected by a process, Mr. O'Neill said. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company

airline-passengers airports cameras chipped databases internet national-id spying tech tips total-awareness Aerial drones patrolling arizona skies Black box in car reports you { September 9 2003 } Bush wants domestic intelligence like britain { April 13 2004 } California driving privacy law { September 23 2003 } Cell phone tracking device Cia seeks to capture eye from distance { November 4 2003 } Court says police can require ID Cow retinal scan [jpg] Fingerprints for bank accounts Government restricts public photographing { May 23 2005 } Homeland security opening private mail from abroad Homeland security visits small toy store Livestock retinal scan Lockheed remote security blimps { October 1 2003 } Microsoft helps authorities surveillance over computers { April 5 2006 } Police random id checks show of force Police use xrays at night clubs { April 14 2004 } Privacy under threat in EU US report says { December 30 2007 } Satellite toll to make drivers pay by the mile Secret anti war activists airport ban Secret searches are increasing under patriot act { May 2 2004 } Secret service questions 15 year old for school art { April 26 2004 } Supreme court backs police on showing ID Undercover sheriff attending fresno peace meetings Us requires fingerprints photos from foreign visitors Files Listed: 25

Correction/submissions

CIA FOIA Archive

National Security Archives

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information, go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purpose of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.