Senator Asks FTC and DOJ for 'Rigorous Oversight' Into Apple, Google, and Amazon's Expansion Into Automobiles

[wanha]

Software is eating the world and there's no one better at it than the makers of complex consumer OSes.

The software we see in cars today is akin to software in phones pre-iPhone - it simultaneously both basic and needlessly complex.

Do you hear that, Mrs Warren? That's the sound of inevitability.

 

[HMI]

I’m certain our government will mismanage this completely. Just like everything else. Big Tech puts big money into every rep and senator’s campaign account. So they’ll write laws according to FAANG’s preferences.

Well, like everything else, Facebook ruined that acronym too.
Now it is MAANG.

 

[dwaite]

Oh no! Not our perfect automotive sector! There's no corruption or problems there!

If the entire dash is CarPlay, you will not have the freedom to install any app that Apple has not approved. People who buy BMWs and Hondas and Fords are not deciding to live in the walled garden like we do when we buy iPhones. I think that is the point.

Here comes big tech, destroying the open app ecosystem which is car infotainment systems.

 

[dwaite]

Well, like everything else, Facebook ruined that acronym too.
Now it is MAANG.

Not MANGA?

 

[Skyscraperfan]

After the latest crashes I am not sure how much longer Meta can still be a member of that club. It was a club of companies with a market cap in the trillions, but Meta today is only worth $240 billion and the trend looks downwards. Down another 10% this week alone and that was after the 25% crash last week when the quarterly numbers came out.

 

[darngooddesign]

Maybe this wouldn't be an issue if automakers didn't suck at digital UX.

 

[genovelle]

Porque no los dos?

And just because apple might be getting investigated doesn’t mean they won’t be still building your dash experience, it’s just a matter of how.

I’m contemplating the different between how CarPlay, Android Auto and Android Automotive OS each integrate and how it is done makes a difference.

For instance, a lightweight OS in the car that had public hooks for CarPlay and the like but can provide basic functionality if no phone is hooked up seems good. Public hooks provide choice.

By contrast, if Google or Apple dig in and actually write the OS for cars it can actually stifle innovation as Warren suggests.

The line is somewhere in between these two and it needs to be determined where that is to keep innovation rolling but allow the deepest integration with our cars so we get the best compromise we can.

Automakers are horrible at software and are finally recognizing that. I get where Warren is headed and some of what she said has merit, for instance the personal data issues. At the same time her concern about Apps having to be approved by Apple and Google is upside down. Apps for a vehicle operating system that is connected to the web in an autonomous vehicle will need to be even more strenuous and thorough. Imagine if Putin’s digital army could hack into GM self driving vehicles via a free popular app that acts as a back door to the OS and takes of a few hundred thousand cars during rush hour or in the middle of holiday travel.

App vetting for a phone mostly protects the user, in a car it protects the public at large too.

 

[DrJR]

We need less regulation to stimulate innovation.

 

[dwaite]

After the latest crashes I am not sure how much longer Meta can still be a member of that club. It was a club of companies with a market cap in the trillions, but Meta today is only worth $240 billion and the trend looks downwards. Down another 10% this week alone and that was after the 25% crash last week when the quarterly numbers came out.

I meant M for Microsoft 😉

 

[mzeb]

Automakers are horrible at software and are finally recognizing that. I get where Warren is headed and some of what she said has merit, for instance the personal data issues. At the same time her concern about Apps having to be approved by Apple and Google is upside down. Apps for a vehicle operating system that is connected to the web in an autonomous vehicle will need to be even more strenuous and thorough. Imagine if Putin’s digital army could hack into GM self driving vehicles via a free popular app that acts as a back door to the OS and takes of a few hundred thousand cars during rush hour or in the middle of holiday travel.

App vetting for a phone mostly protects the user, in a car it protects the public at large too.

With you 100% on the security concerns but in this case I don’t think it should be up to Apple and Google for the approval.

Letting companies be an authority on safety, whether it csam or apps in cars is a mistake. Their interest is profit first. It is our governments that should manage safety (even if they don’t do a great job all the time).

I’d argue that communication regulation should probably be involved with this. An approval like that which is done in most countries for cell phones and laptops.