The Snoop in Your Coupe (washingtonpost.com)

I was quite surprised to hear that electronic data recording devices (EDR) are already installed in car by automakers. I strongly dislike the idea and find it to be quite intrusive.

As for the first EDR mentioned in the article, black boxes that will supposedly be bought by parents to install in there teens car, I am also quite concerned. It is one thing to install it in a teens car, but what is to stop an abusive spouse/partner from installing it in the significant other's vehicle without their knowledge? Given the real time communications module, that is a strong concern. Also, will police officers have access to this real time communication? Can they get at it with a subpeona to the module manifacturer? Will a wiretap of the communication between home computer and communication module do the trick?

Laws need to be drafted to clarify this important issue, and disclosures need to be made by the manufacturers.