Efter Volkswagenskandalen där bilföretaget som alla andra bilföretag vägrade att ge bilägare tillgång till den datorkod i vilken man hade dolt avgasfusket, så har nu den amerikanska Electronic Frontier Foundation vunnit en seger för amerikanska bilägare i den här viktiga frågan.
Electronic Frontier Foundation skriver på sin hemsida:
Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Alert
Washington, D.C. – The Librarian of Congress has granted security researchers and others the right to inspect and modify the software in their cars and other vehicles, despite protests from vehicle manufacturers. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed the request for software access as part of the complex, triennial rulemaking process that determines exemptions from Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Because Section 1201 prohibits unlocking “access controls” on the software, car companies have been able to threaten legal action against anyone who needs to get around those restrictions, no matter how legitimate the reason. While the copyright office removed this legal cloud from much car software research, it also delayed implementation of the exemption for one year.
“This ‘access control’ rule is supposed to protect against unlawful copying,” said EFF Staff Attorney Kit Walsh. “But as we’ve seen in the recent Volkswagen scandal—where VW was caught manipulating smog tests—it can be used instead to hide wrongdoing hidden in computer code. We are pleased that analysts will now be able to examine the software in the cars we drive without facing legal threats from car manufacturers, and that the Librarian has acted to promote competition in the vehicle aftermarket and protect the long tradition of vehicle owners tinkering with their cars and tractors.
Samtidigt har Volkswagen och alla andra bilfabrikörer vunnit en delseger genom att förhala implementationen av de nya bestämmelserna i ett år.
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