The Breakdown:
- The Department of Justice has subpoenaed Apple and Google for the identities of 100,000 users who downloaded the EZ Lynk Auto Agent App.
- The agency is seeking the names, addresses, and purchase histories of users.
- The agency also subpoenaed Amazon and Walmart.
If you have ever downloaded the EZ Lynk Auto Agent app to your phone, the feds could soon have your information. In the last couple of months, the Department of Justice has subpoenaed Apple and Google, demanding that they hand over identifying information of at least 100,000 people.
The agency is investigating EZ Lynk following allegations that the company violated the Clean Air Act, suing it in 2021. The DOJ accused the company of intentionally selling the device to help owners remove emissions controls, a claim EZ Lynk denies.
According to Forbes, EZ Lynk’s lawyers said in a letter:
'These requests for potentially hundreds of thousands of people’s PII [Personally Identifiable Information] go well beyond the needs of this case and create serious privacy concerns. Investigating this claim does not require identifying each person who has used the product.'
The DOJ said it is seeking information so it can interview users, who it says, "no longer have a cognizable privacy interest as to that information." The letter also revealed that the agency subpoenaed Amazon and Walmart for the names of customers who bought EZ Lynk hardware.
Apple and Google are going to fight the subpoenas, according to Forbes.
Motor1’s Take: In the digital world, privacy is nonexistent. With technology and software continuing to define modern cars, we expect the government will be just as interested in the data automakers generate as your insurance company and other third-party data brokers.
