Automakers will be required to give domestic violence survivors new tools to ensure that their abusers cannot electronically track and stalk them in their vehicles under what the bill’s sponsors say is a pioneering California law.
The requirement is likely to have national implications because of California’s influence on how automobile manufacturers design and build cars for the rest of the country.
The law is one of eight that Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed Friday to protect domestic violence victims. His office cited statistics that 1 in 5 women experience severe physical intimate partner violence in their lifetime and 1 in 6 murder victims are killed by a partner.
“I am proud to sign these laws to help victims escape their abusers and provide them with financial tools and security to rebuild their lives,” Newsom said in a statement.
The law, which will phase in over three years, will require that automakers make it easier for domestic violence survivors to request that their remote vehicle access features be disabled, even if their abusive partner is a co-owner of the vehicle.
Starting in July, car manufacturers will have to act within two days of a victim proving that they have legal possession of the car by showing title to the car, a divorce decree or proof of a restraining order.
By 2028, carmakers will need to enable technology that allows a driver to know if someone is tracking their location or otherwise remotely accessing their vehicle. The law will also require that drivers have a way to immediately turn off the location signal the car is sending.
The bill was authored by Sens. Dave Min (D) and Angelique Ashby (D) and Assemblymember Akilah Weber (D). They all introduced their own version of the legislation before coalescing behind a single approach.
It was cosponsored by several groups including the Consumer Federation of California. In a statement, executive director Robert Herrell called it a first-in-the-nation law and predicted it would “spur pro-privacy technological advancements in the automotive industry.”
Backers cited the case of a San Francisco woman whose abusive husband used his ability to access her Tesla to terrorize her. They also cited Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel’s February recommendation that automakers should have to comply with a federal telecommunications law designed to protect domestic violence victims.
Remote stalking is a growing issue as cars become more sophisticated and connected, and as tracking technologies become more ubiquitous.
While California’s law is the first to target carmakers, several states have enacted laws making it illegal to electronically track someone without their consent. Those laws grew out of cases where victims were followed using GPS devices attached to cars or other technologies, sometimes resulting in deadly attacks.
Apple and Google have developed an industry standard to alert users if their location is being monitored using Bluetooth technology like AirTags.