The auto industry puts profits over people — Congress must act now 

Congress deserves praise for acting swiftly to stop the automotive industry from procuring its drivers’ safety and security from the lowest bidder — and at the expense of human rights.  

In May, the United States Senate Finance Committee unveiled a report uncovering how some automakers, including BWM, Jaguar, Land Rover and VW, are importing vehicles and spare parts presumptively made with forced labor — mostly Uyghurs and other minority groups whom China has kept in detainment camps since 2017.  

U.S. automakers’ partnership with these human rights abusers does not appear to be a new phenomenon. The committee’s report suggests it has been happening for a while, with the industry quietly keeping it under wraps. To say these likely and repeated violations of the Tariff Act of 1930 and Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act of 2021 are repulsive and disappointing would be an understatement.  

China is one of the most significant threats to human rights and national security around the globe. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has not minced words about its desire to become the world’s leading power, and it is not afraid to violate human rights, steal intellectual property and conduct unbridled cyber warfare around the world to achieve its goals.  

Why can’t some automakers stop working with Chinese suppliers that are known to violate human rights?  

The auto industry receives billions of dollars from taxpayers in the form of subsidies and tax relief on the federal, state and local levels. It can afford to divest itself from problem actors that have no regard for human dignity and life. Unfortunately, however, profitability is all that seems to matter for many of the companies that operate within this sector.  

While perpetuating human rights abuses by the CCP is inexcusable, an even bigger threat to our national security is the data generated and collected within today’s vehicles, and the ability of foreign adversaries to access that data. 

It has been estimated that data collection in the new “connected” car could present the auto industry a potential $750 billion revenue stream. Analysts have now dubbed Americans’ cars “TikTok on wheels” because the amount of data collected on American drivers would make Big Tech blush. 

Anyone having access to so much sensitive data on Americans bears a special responsibility to protect that data, particularly from foreign adversaries. 

A recent Mozilla Foundation study found that all 25 major car brands receive falling marks on consumer privacy, while a New York Times report unveiled how some have even begun quietly selling their data to sectors like the insurance industry.  

While this revelation is concerning for the American people’s privacy, it is even worse for America’s national security.  

As early as 2016, the U.S. Attorney’s General’s Office has warned that rogue nation states may be working to capitalize on the data generated by connected cars. While eight years have come and gone, car companies — flushed with dollar signs in their eyes — have done little to rectify that problem. Targeted cyberattacks in the auto industry have increased by nearly 400 percent year over year as a result. 

With the growing use of artificial intelligence both within vehicles and by our adversaries for nefarious purposes, the privacy and safety of American drivers is at further risk. This is truly a critical intersection for innovation, privacy and public safety. 

The Senate Finance Committee was right when it said the auto industry has proven incapable of self-policing. Congress must step in.  

First, the committee must follow through on its pledge to have Customs and Border Protection enforce the laws that presently exist to stop the American economy’s use of China’s forced labor — and it needs to impose swift monetary and political penalties for subsequent abuses.    

Then, Congress must expedite passage of meaningful data privacy legislation to protect drivers’ privacy generally, but also to ensure it does not fall into the hands of bad state actors. While the discussions in Congress have been long been focused on Big Tech, the massive collection of data in the car and how that data is transferred is an issue of critical national security.  

Congress’s job is to regulate what cannot be self-regulated. Over the last several years, it has become abundantly clear that the auto industry’s dangerous business impulses are one of those things.  

James Durso (@james_durso) is a regular commentator on foreign policy and national security matters. He served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years and has worked in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.