BOSTON (Legal Newsline) – The U.S. government seems to be urging a Massachusetts judge to rule that a new state law will place unfair burdens on the automotive industry.
As the Alliance for Automotive Innovation’s lawsuit goes to trial in Boston federal court, the feds issued a statement of interest on June 11. It says if Massachusetts’ new law, which requires owner access to vehicle telematics, creates a safety issue that would be deemed a defect under the federal Safety Act, automakers will be forced to make changes.
At issue is Massachusetts’s SD645, known as the “Data Law,” which was passed as a ballot initiative in 2020. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation challenged it in federal court in November
The Data Law requires automakers by 2022 to equip their telematics – systems that collect information generated by while the automobile is used and transmit that data using wireless communications to a remote receiving point – with equipment that allows that data to be accessed directly by the vehicle’s owner via an app.
The AIA worries that access to information will have “negative consequences for consumer privacy,” as well as public safety and manufacturers’ federally protected property rights.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in 2019 that the Data Law requires automakers to design their products in a way that introduces cybersecurity risks.
“(The Department of Transportation) is concerned that the Data Law potentially creates a… serious cybersecurity risk to motor vehicle safety by effectively requiring open remote access to certain vehicle systems through the removal of existing manufacturer access controls,” the statement of interest reads.
“Because all motor vehicle components potentially need maintenance, diagnostics or repair at some point during their existence, this requirement effectively requires motor vehicle manufacturers to provide remote access to send commands to all of a vehicle’s systems…
“This complicated task is made even more difficult due to the timing constraints imposed by the Data Law. Given the requirement that these modifications be implemented in all motor vehicles using telematics systems for model years 2022 and onward, DOT is concerned about whether there is sufficient time to develop such a system safely and effectively.”
On June 14, just ahead of the start of the trial, Healey filed a motion for judgment as a matter of law. She says the AIA has failed to carry its burden of proving the Data Law will conflict with federal law.
Much of the motion’s arguments are redacted, and the memorandum in support of it is restricted.