Research Guides: Legal Technology Tips, Tricks, & Treats 2019: Autonomous Vehicle Data and the Law

Introduction

The amount of new data generated by autonomous vehicles, and smart devices generally, is enormous, and new tools will be needed to use it effectively.

Self-driving cars generate all kinds of data, including GPS, telemetry, g-force, brake and acceleration usage, multi-angle video data, crash analytics, and more. All of that data is potentially relevant to finding fault in a car crash, or in a consumer safety class-action lawsuit against the car manufacturer. Some of it, such as the recorded video, might be useful even when the car is not directly involved in an incident. Other data, such as location data, raise privacy concerns.

Surveillance Video Shows Woman Keying Tesla In Broomfield (video - CBS Denver)
Tesla has eight always-on cameras (even when the car is not in use) which records “incidents” and saves them on Tesla servers.
Your smart devices listening to you, explained (Vox)
Smart home appliances have the capacity to record everything occupants say and save recordings to corporate servers.
Data, Data Everywhere
As data gets bigger, lawyers will need to stay nimble to keep abreast of both ways to use newly accessible data, and emerging best-practices for advising corporate clients.
Fatal Tesla Crash Exposes Gap In Automaker's Use Of Car Data (Forbes)
Companies like Tesla freely release data for PR purposes, but not for the benefit of consumers.
The customer is always wrong: Tesla lets out self-driving car data – when it suits
“Drivers don’t have access to this data to defend themselves if they need it,” the Swiss driver said. “So this data is 100% to the disadvantage of the drivers.”
Jesse Krompier, Safety First: The Case for Mandatory Data Sharing As A Federal Safety Standard for Self-Driving Cars, 2017 U. Ill. J.L. Tech. & Pol'y 439.
As autonomous vehicles become more common, there will be increased debate concerning whether companies have a duty to preserve this information for purposes of establishing fault in accidents or identify consumer safety issues. This brings in data-retention questions that are currently resolved entirely by corporate policy.
This Tesla Mod Turns a Model S Into a Mobile 'Surveillance Station' (Wired)
We Built an ‘Unbelievable’ (but Legal) Facial Recognition Machine (NY Times)
The NY Times created a system to identify passers by using a standard computer and a webcam

More Resources

Law and Autonomous Machines by Mark Chinen
Call Number: K564.C6 C45
ISBN: 9781786436580
Publication Date: 2019-05-31
This book sets out a possible trajectory for the co-development of legal responsibility on the one hand and artificial intelligence and the machines and systems driven by it on the other.
Autonomous Vehicles and the Law by Hannah Y. F. Lim
Call Number: K4034 .L56
ISBN: 9781788115100
Publication Date: 2018-12-28
Autonomous vehicles have attracted a great deal of attention in the media, however there are some inconsistencies between the perception of autonomous vehicles’ capabilities and their actual functions. This book provides an accessible explanation of how autonomous vehicles function, suggesting appropriate regulatory responses to the existing and emerging technology.
Autonomous Driving by Markus Maurer (Editor); J. Christian Gerdes (Editor); Barbara Lenz (Editor); Hermann Winner (Editor)
ISBN: 9783662488478
Publication Date: 2016-03-03
This book takes a look at fully automated, autonomous vehicles and discusses many open questions: How can autonomous vehicles be integrated into the current transportation system with diverse users and human drivers? Where do automated vehicles fall under current legal frameworks?