Wouldn't this be illegal under GDPR? A license plate number can be linked to the owner and therefore can be a PII, as well as car serial number or other identifier.
Also, this shows that no matter if you pay for the product or not, you become the product for squeezing the data anyway.
Also, this could be a national security issue everywhere except US if US government would be able to track the cars all around the world. For example, what if they will track the cars used by defence industry employees or military personnel?
Such tracking equipment should be banned for import, but it is more likely that local government will just ask to provide the data to them too.
> Also, this shows that no matter if you pay for the product or not, you become the product for squeezing the data anyway.
Because it's not due to money, but power. They have the power to put spy devices in so many cars it becomes (near) impossible to buy one without, and so they do it.
A product only respects your rights if you can control it, if you have the power and leverage to change how it works. If you don't, you get user-hostile features whether you like it or not (the Intel Management Engine, and its AMD equivalent, being just two examples).
Also, this shows that no matter if you pay for the product or not, you become the product for squeezing the data anyway.
Also, this could be a national security issue everywhere except US if US government would be able to track the cars all around the world. For example, what if they will track the cars used by defence industry employees or military personnel?
Such tracking equipment should be banned for import, but it is more likely that local government will just ask to provide the data to them too.