As a Canadian who holds negative views of both the American and Chinese governments, I think to myself: which am I more likely to visit someday and will therefore have the opportunity to stick me in an ICE detention center when they look up my profile to discover that? Which of the two governments is a more direct threat to my own country's security and sovereignty?

I get an answer that would perhaps surprise Americans.

It’s worth looking into how much data modern US cars are gathering as well

Well known.

Location & Movement: Real-time GPS coordinates, route history, frequently visited destinations (like home or work), and travel times.

Driving Behavior: Speed, harsh braking, rapid acceleration, steering angles, and how often you engage safety features like lane-keep assist.

Vehicle Telematics: Odometer readings, tire pressure, battery/fuel levels, diagnostic trouble codes, and maintenance needs.

Infotainment & Syncs: Call logs, text messages, contact lists, and connected music or app preferences. Some systems use voice recognition and record conversations.

Biometrics & Cabin Monitoring: Cabin microphones, seat sensors (which register your weight), and cameras that track eye and head movements for fatigue.

External Cameras: 360-degree cameras, dashcams, and automated parking sensors that catalog the physical environment around your vehicle.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/03/how-figure-out-what-your-car-knows-about-you-and-opt-out-sharing-when-you-can

If I'm ever forced to buy a new car you better believe I'm finding the lte module and faraday caging that shit, regardless of what emblem is on the grill.

I’m just never buying a car made after 2018.

They all do it, but at the very least, European manufacturers are liable for GDPR violations for cars being used in the EU.

I was sent a tiktok link by someone recently so I opened it and this is what they have showing on their website:

Remote-access “transfers of EEA User Data to China”: Update on Irish GDPR decision

In April 2025, the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) found that TikTok had not complied with GDPR requirements in relation to transfers of some "EEA User Data to China by way of remote access". The DPC ordered TikTok to bring its transfers into compliance within 6 months, failing which they must be suspended. TikTok strongly disagrees with the DPC's decision and is appealing through the Irish courts. The High Court of Ireland has paused the decision while that happens, allowing the transfers to continue for now.

They straight up don't give a fuck, they'll just continue doing what they're doing and appeal it through the courts.

What happens if they do lose? They'll just close down their European operations and leave a huge sign blaming the GDPR and people will complain until they get special privileges. Because as a Chinese company, they can easily afford to lose a huge market like Europe.

BYD, Geely, etc can do the same. China's got enough leverage on us.

Not wrong, I'd find the LTE hardware and put a faraday cage around it even if it were BMW, Tesla (yuck, car for dumasses and nazis) or General Motors- but when you KNOW the company is required by law in their country to share data collected with an opposition government, the reasons for caring don't just increase, they launch to space.

Well back in 2016, when I was working for a European car manufacturer, all the data of cars in China went straight to a mirror server of the government. For all other countries the data was stored at the company servers.

Back then Chinese EV vehicles were no thing, so not sure how they handle it now.

But as you said, you can safely assume all the data goes to someone. Depends if they have something like GDPR in place or not, they can see most of your data and connect it to he user account.

The assumption they will be repairable at all is wishful thinking at this point, but that's not really what I'm worried about. Every new car has LTE and I don't trust even American companies with telemetry, let alone a nation state that requires their exporters to share data with their governement.

The reason for a locked door is not to be absolutely secure but to make going in harder.

Deadbolt will slow even a professional down long enough to make 100% sure they have time to hear the slide loudly cycle on something on the other side of that door.

I have Linux. Does that count?

Oh HEEELLLLLLL no.
Click my username to see my account images.

Oh, and before you ask, GrapheneOS on mobile.

Good old whataboutism.

As an Australian im ok with the chinese tracking me, what i don't want is my government or a 5eyes nation tracking me, my government is the one who wants to do me harm.

I bought a 2018 car in 2022 and was a bit pissed about the tracking. There was a dialog to turn it off but it kept popping up. But then I realized that the built in cell was 3G and they canceled that network nationwide. Just a thought if you are buying a used car.

I have nothing at all against EVs what-so-ever, but I do have a problem with telemetry/data collection/always-connected-equipment of any kind.