Why I reluctantly voted “No” on Question 1 of the MA ballot

Question 1 on the MA ballot proposes an amendment to the 2013 “Right to Repair Act” and at first seems like a no brainer — of course I want to support small businesses from any exclusionary behavior by large companies. The local mechanics I relied on growing up in Andover, MA come to mind. Upon further consideration, I voted “No”.

The proposal, which requires all car manufacturers in MA starting in 2022 to build cars with telematics systems that would store car data on a government managed cloud server, also includes a vague government-run app. It provides almost no clarity on exactly what data is stored, how long it’s maintained, and what measures are in place to protect it. I want to give the MA policymakers a chance to do what they’re asking for, but until they can explain the specific policies to protect personal data, a detailed scope of the types of data, retention periods of the data (how long it will be stored by the government and by the third parties like mechanics), by whom it can be accessed (can people who share a car access one another’s info?), what protections and restrictions will be implemented by the third parties that access it, and how those measures will be enforced, I cannot vote “Yes”.

Having worked professionally in the data privacy space, personally been a victim of cyberstalking, and after hours researching and discussing the question with friends and family, I’m still left confused about how the MA government would manage and safeguard my data. I urge lawmakers to further flesh out their data policies for this measure and educate the public on the specifics of their plan before asking us to sign on to government stewardship of our data and possibly make ourselves vulnerable to subsequent misuse or bad actors. I believe we are setting an important precedent on how the state would intervene in the market to manage private data sharing, and I hope for more transparency from MA policymakers on my data’s use and maintenance.