Effort To Defeat Government Kill Switches Fails

The so-called Infrastructure Bill which made its way through the US House and Senate, then was signed into law by President Biden, had a lot of troubling things in it. Most omnibus bills are so large the people voting on them often aren’t aware of everything they’re endorsing, another very troubling thing about what happens inside the Beltway. However, the kill switch mandate contained in that legislation, which was supposedly about infrastructure, was almost defeated through a separate measure. Sadly, it didn’t pass the House after enough Republicans joined Democrats in defeating it – after all, they have to keep you safe from yourself.

Don’t worry, your personal info collected by your car is already being handed over to the government. Representative Thomas Massie put forth an amendment to the Infrastructure Bill which would’ve stopped the kill switch mandate which goes into effect after 2026. However, a vote on the evening of November 7 resulted in the amendment’s defeat. Massie shared the roll call so you can know if the person who supposedly represents your interests in Washington, D.C. voted to allow the government to control when you can use your car.

Perhaps most troubling about the federal kill switch is the fundamental invasion of personal privacy introduced by the original bill. It says the so-called safety device must “passively monitor the performance of a driver of a motor vehicle to accurately identify whether that driver may be impaired.” In other words you will be under government surveillance every moment you’re behind the wheel. If the system decides you’re acting impaired, for whatever reason, your car won’t turn on. This could leave you stranded, which really doesn’t sound so safe in certain situations. Supposedly, the federal kill switch is all about keeping you and everyone else safe. It’s been portrayed as something which would only impact drunk or otherwise impaired drivers, although many have expressed concerns over its potential abuse. Police and other law enforcement agencies apparently can use a backdoor in the system to stop any vehicle that’s fleeing. That might sound great, but the potential for abuse is definitely there. Not only could government officials use this kill switch to punish those they want to persecute for political or social reasons, hackers could possibly gain access. The possibility your car would be locked down as someone demands a ransom is paid through an untraceable means, something which has been happening even to big businesses lately, could be in your future.

🚨 The federal government has mandated that all vehicles sold after 2026 must have a kill switch that can disable your vehicle based on your driving performance. My amendment to defund that unconstitutional mandate failed tonight. Here is the roll call:https://t.co/YWufj9BuMv — Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) November 8, 2023