The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has instructed automakers to not comply with Massachusetts’ recently passed right-to-repair law, Yahoo News reports.
According to Vice, Assistant Chief Counsel at the NHTSA Kerry Kolodziej composed a letter to almost two dozen manufacturers–including BMW, Ferrari, Ford, and Hyundai–in which he argued that providing open access to a vehicle’s telematics poses a risk for hacking.
If open access to a manufacturer’s telematics is provided, Kolodziej writes that a “malicious actor here or abroad” could have the ability to remotely send commands to a vehicle and interfere with vital safety functions, which include steering, acceleration, braking, air bags, and electronic stability control.
Kolodziej urged automakers to not comply with the law, suggesting that by doing so they would be jeopardizing the safety of drivers and thereby violating the National Highway Traffic Safety Act.
“Given the serious safety risks posed by the Data Access Law, taking action to open remote access to vehicles’ telematics units in accordance with that law, which requires communication pathways to vehicle control systems, would conflict with your obligations under the [National Highway Traffic] Safety Act,” Kolodziej’s letter read.
