Privacy fears raised over European communications system

01 April 2009

Privacy campaigners are raising issues about the European Co-operative Vehicle Infrastructure Systems project, which is developing sophisticated electronic systems for vehicle navigation, control and communications.

The European Commission project is for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications which could be used for providing real-time traffic navigation to individual vehicles, congestion charging systems, speed control, intelligent vehicle safety systems and advanced driver assistance systems. It could also be used for downloading data to individual vehicles, and for controlling public transport networks.

But now a group called Privacy International says the system could create a potentially-infallible surveillance system, capable of tracking vehicles to within 1m.

But supporters say it offers little more potential for tracking people than mobile phones do already. And some applications would not require vehicles to reveal their whereabouts.

‘The system’s applications are more or less limitless,’ said Prof Neil Hoose, of Bittern Consulting, which is developing aspects of the system for the Department for Transport, which is a partner in the project. ‘We can tailor it to the problem we’re trying to solve, be it congestion, safety or pollution. It gives users another lever.’

The CVIS project will present some results to the world congress in Stockholm in September and a range of results next year, with the intention of offering a European-standard system and possible wider international standards.

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