Miguel Afonso Caetano#Surveillance #Privacy #BigAuto: "A federal judge upheld the dismissal of a class action lawsuit that alleged automakers unlawfully collected and recorded car owners’ text messages, as first reported by The Record. In a ruling on Tuesday, the Seattle-based judge said the claims aren’t severe enough to be considered a violation of the state’s Washington Privacy Act (WPA).
A group of five related class action lawsuits allege that Honda, Toyota, Volkswagen, General Motors, and Ford “recorded and intercepted [car owners’] private text messages and call logs” when their phones were connected to the vehicles’ infotainment systems. The case filed against Ford has already been dismissed, according to The Record.
The federal judge’s ruling states that the district court “properly dismissed” the four remaining cases, adding that they don’t satisfy the WPA’s statutory injury requirement, which says plaintiffs must allege an injury to their person, reputation, or business. “Plaintiffs’ allegation that a violation of the WPA itself is enough to satisfy injury to a ‘person’... without more, is insufficient to meet the statutory requirement,” the ruling says."
