Two US senators are demanding Tesla and Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk to explain privacy policies after previous reports surfaced of employees sharing video footage captured by Tesla vehicles during car crashes, road rage incidents, and other clips that were turned into "memes."
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Tesla owner Philip Benassi drives his car in Jessheim, southeast Norway on January 17, 2023. - The word has become commonplace in the Norwegian vernacular: "rekkevideangst", or "range anxiety". Tesla owner Philip Benassi has experienced it on cold winter days, but like other Norwegians, he's learned to cope.
Blasting Tesla to Explain Privacy Employees
Tesla is being blasted by two Democrat senators, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), for sharing by employees of sensitive images and videos recorded by cameras in customers' vehicles. The Verge reported that the company was accused of showing "willful disregard" for its customers' privacy.
An April 14th letter was sent directly to Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk by the senators and it states, "We urge you to take all necessary actions to ensure that any images or videos consensually collected from Tesla vehicles are subject to strict privacy safeguards."
Both senators described the case as unacceptable and raises serious questions about Tesla's management practices. This letter gives Musk and the company until May 5th to answer several questions about the sharing of camera images, including whether the executives had been aware of this practice, how long the recordings are kept, and the failure to prevent these instances.
The letter also suggests that Tesla has been misusing its safety features. Although vehicle cameras have the power to improve safety for drivers, the two senators argued that these features should not be used to abuse consumer privacy.
Employees Sharing Sensitive Customers Videos
According to Reuters' report, Tesla workers have shared several sensitive videos and photos from customers, recorded through their camera vehicles for several years now. These were shared through group chats and one-on-one communication between 2019 and last year.
Sensitive videos include a driver hitting a child on a bike, a nude man walking toward a vehicle, and more. One of the employees described, "We could see them doing laundry and really intimate things. We could see their kids."
Also Read: Tesla Said Cars Could Record Photos and Videos from Users Without Them Knowing
Tesla states on its website that each new vehicle comes with eight external cameras to support features like Autopilot, Smart Summon, and Autopark. These cameras will also enable the Sentry Mode surveillance system to capture footage of people approaching the vehicle to avoid suspicious activity.
Gizmodo reported that these cameras are designed to protect user privacy, as stated in the company's policies. In fact, when customers opt to share camera recordings for fleet learning purposes, these will be anonymous and will not be linked to the owner.
Due to this, several customers filed a complaint, including Tesla owner Henry Yeh as the plaintiff who took it upon himself, and others who owned Tesla EVs for the past four years. Nine former employees already stepped forward to claim the allegations.
Related Article: Tesla Faces Lawsuit in California for Employee Access on Cabin Camera, Sharing its Videos Internally
