Alliance for Automotive Innovation sues to block implementation of “right to repair” ballot question – masslive.com

A national automakers group is suing to block the implementation of Question 1, the so-called “right to repair” ballot question, claiming the measure would create safety risks to vehicles and upend years of “work and investment” in securing vehicle data.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation filed the action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Friday.

“This Data Law makes personal driving data available to third parties with no safeguards to protect core vehicle functions and consumers’ private information or physical safety,” the group said. “The lawsuit requests that the court find the Data Law unenforceable because it is unconstitutional, and because it conflicts with Federal laws.”

Question 1 asked voters to weigh in on whether they and an independent mechanic of their choice should have access to their car’s telematics data. Telematics data can be used to monitor a car’s performance, crash notifications and a motorist’s location, among other things.

Its passage means the expansion of the existing “right to repair” law to mandate the creation of a mobile app where a car owner can see the telematics data and share it with a mechanic of the owner’s choice. Voting no would have kept the law the way it is.

The new law is set to take effect on Dec. 3.

The trade group says the updated law would undo “years of manufacturers’ work and billions of dollars in investment to protect and secure vehicle data.”

“In addition to its threat to safety, the Data Law risks exposure of vehicle owners’ personal and confidential information (such as telephone call records or lists of places they visit) by making that information available to third parties who are less careful with and less capable of protecting that data,” the group says.