Hertz Puts Video Cameras Inside Its Rental Cars, Has 'No Current Plans' To Use Them
from the no,-really,-it's-not-switched-on-yet dept
Last week we wrote about the hypothetical situation of CCTV cameras being installed in every home. It turns out that this particular dystopia is closer than we thought: an article by Kashmir Hill on the Fusion site passes on the news that Hertz is putting cameras inside its rental cars as part of its "NeverLost" navigational system:
Hertz has offered the NeverLost navigational device for years, but it only added the built-in camera feature (which includes audio and video) to its latest version of the device -- NeverLost 6 -- in mid-2014. "Approximately a quarter of our vehicles across the country have a NeverLost unit and slightly more than half of those vehicles have the NeverLost 6 model installed,” Hertz spokesperson Evelin Imperatrice said by email. In other words, one in 8 Hertz cars has a camera inside -- but Imperatrice says that, for now, they are inactive. "We do not have adequate bandwidth capabilities to the car to support streaming video at this time," she said.
So why did it install them?
"Hertz added the camera as a feature of the NeverLost 6 in the event it was decided, in the future, to activate live agent connectivity to customers by video. In that plan the customer would have needed to turn on the camera by pushing a button (while stationary)," Imperatrice explained. "The camera feature has not been launched, cannot be operated and we have no current plans to do so."
But of course, Hertz would hardly go to the trouble and expense of fitting its cars with this feature unless, at some future point, it did plan to use them. Morever, that future use might go well beyond "live agent connectivity", as Hill rightly points out:
you could imagine camera mission creep, such as Hertz using it to capture video of what a trouble renter is up to in the vehicle, or to see who is really driving the car, or to snoop on a singing -- or snuggling -- driver.
According to the Fusion article, Hertz doesn't seem to be telling anyone about the camera, on the grounds that the company doesn't plan to use it, and so there's nothing for customers to know. But if and when it does announce its presence, there will be precisely the problem Techdirt mentioned last week: that people in front of it would naturally be worried they were being spied upon -- even if assured to the contrary -- and would start constraining their speech and behavior.
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Filed Under: rental cars, video cameras
Companies: hertz
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Re: Nothing that a piece of electrical tape can't fix.
and if you do, and there's an accident or legal question fo some sort, you have voided your rights under the contract, blah blah blah...
sure, you can, but not like it'll be something that you don't get chewed on by the corporation and their lawyers for doing.
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Re: Re: Nothing that a piece of electrical tape can't fix.
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Re: Re: Re: Nothing that a piece of electrical tape can't fix.
Also, it would be fairly trivial to compare GPS location of vehicle w/ cellular coverage map of provider. If they're using Verizon, and over the course of 8 hours you don't see any cellular coverage while the GPS shows you're in downtown LA, you're busted. Oh, and now you've clearly intentionally interfered with the proper function of their vehicle. You might want to check the fine print for penalties for that.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Nothing that a piece of electrical tape can't fix.
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Re:
If there are ones that are built into the car, then yes, I'd go with a bit of tape (rental agreement be damned).
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Re: electrical tape
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Re: bandwidth - Disconnect here ...
These people can't even keep their story straight. That is the hallmark of a lie.
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Hope they got good lawyers. Last time I checked US Code at least one person had to consent to such recording. (No, that does NOT apply to video, only audio.) In some states ALL parties must consent. No consent and the audio cannot be used in court; likely the attached video wouldn't be admitted either.
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This solves the problem of law enforcement ever wanting to get any videos they have. Hertz could just simply erase it with KillDisk or EE, and that will be the end of it.
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Future is not that far away
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Lies, damn lies, and PR statements
Installing a bunch of cameras into their rental cars is not going to be cheap, do they honestly think anyone is going to buy the laughably obvious lie of 'We have no plans to turn these on, we just wanted to spend a bunch of money in case we ever decide to do so'?
They would not be going through the hassle of buying and installing a bunch of cameras in their rental cars unless they were already planning on turning them on at some point in the likely near future, despite their claims to the contrary.
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Re: Lies, damn lies, and PR statements
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Re: Re: Lies, damn lies, and PR statements
Price and participation may very, terms are subject to change, see you're dealer and wireless provider for more details.
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Re: Re: Lies, damn lies, and PR statements
This would not violate the current CFAA, being that you would to break a password to be in violation of the law.
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Re: Lies, damn lies, and PR statements
Let me know if I'm wrong.
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Any bets?
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Re: Any bets?
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Re: Any bets?
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Hertz is an inside job!!!
Nothing to see here folks, move along.
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It's bound to be in the fine print. If nothing else under 'monitoring' as everyone knows by now that they are monitoring vehicle performance so it's not a stretch to interpret that consent as also covering audio monitoring (devil's advocate). After all there may be some valid purposes eg leave vehicle at night in motel parking lot, loud sound of glass breaking = alert the police. Everyone did read all the agreement didn't they. Every single time.
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Note from competitor
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. There is not much you could have done that would better benefit our business.
Very, very sincerely
Owners of the Rent-a-Wreck franchises
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I could see the jammer companies getting a lot more business.
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Re:
They want to record? Let them record.
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No current plans
Just think of how widespread public surveillance cameras are now. Initially the technology was poor. Resolution was low, storage was expensive, analysis took much human effort. Now, resolution is extremely high, storage costs are negligible, and artificial intelligence replaces much of the human intelligence needs.
So what do we have? Public spaces that look more or less outwardly similar to the previous decade or two, but with drastically enhanced capabilities. Does the feed of that camera down your street report to a networked database? Who has access to it? How long is it stored?
The scary part is we will likely not realize when facial recognition and ALPR capabilities become standard because there is no physical change to notice.
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If forward, like the Russian dashcams, then that actually makes sense. They can use it after an accident to determine who is at fault. You are renting THEIR car. They should have the right to see how you drive it.
If it is recording the driver and passengers, then yea, that is problematic.
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For-ev-er
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Re: For-ev-er
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People can show their disapproval by boycotting Hertz. That's what I did when taxis first started installing cameras -- just walk out upon seeing one. But that particular form of protest is not possible anymore, as all taxis have cameras now.
It's the same with McDonalds and other fast-food restaurants blanketing the dining areas with hidden cameras (those grey fist-sized hemispheres attached all over the ceiling.
Cameras are now everywhere. About the only place that *still* does not have any cameras is in the bathrooms, but who knows for how much longer.
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Re:
We might need to be more active. God only knows how.
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Mendoza Line
I sure hope they can field.
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Hmmm.
I just had a great idea! Be back soon. Sending a letter to keyboard makers.
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Perhaps Hertz's National Security Letter
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We all need it in every car
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E-sync security dealing security alarm systems chennai and burglar alarm system manufacturers, dealers, distributors and suppliers.
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Car Rental Safety or Customer Privacy?
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