Products

EMARKETER delivers leading-edge research to clients in a variety of forms, including full-length reports and data visualizations to equip you with actionable takeaways for better business decisions.
PRO+
New data sets, deeper insights, and flexible data visualizations.
Learn More
Reports
In-depth analysis, benchmarks and shorter spotlights on digital trends.
Learn More
Forecasts
Interactive projections with 10k+ metrics on market trends, & consumer behavior.
Learn More
Charts
Proprietary data and over 3,000 third-party sources about the most important topics.
Learn More
Industry KPIs
Industry benchmarks for the most important KPIs in digital marketing, advertising, retail and ecommerce.
Learn More
Briefings
Client-only email newsletters with analysis and takeaways from the daily news.
Learn More
Analyst Access Program
Exclusive time with the thought leaders who craft our research.
Learn More

About EMARKETER

Our goal is to unlock digital opportunities for our clients with the world’s most trusted forecasts, analysis, and benchmarks. Spanning five core coverage areas and dozens of industries, our research on digital transformation is exhaustive.
Our Story
Learn more about our mission and how EMARKETER came to be.
Learn More
Methodology
Rigorous proprietary data vetting strips biases and produces superior insights.
Learn More
Our People
Take a look into our corporate culture and view our open roles.
Join the Team
Contact Us
Speak to a member of our team to learn more about EMARKETER.
Contact Us
Newsroom
See our latest press releases, news articles or download our press kit.
Learn More
Advertising & Sponsorship Opportunities
Reach an engaged audience of decision-makers.
Learn More
Events
Browse our upcoming and past events, recent podcasts, and other featured resources.
Learn More
Podcasts
Tune in to EMARKETER's daily, weekly, and monthly podcasts.
Learn More

China’s Tesla restrictions expose growing concern about AVs’ digital privacy

The news: Officials in China have banned Tesla vehicles from the town of Beidaihe for two months due to government meetings held there.

  • Local traffic authorities in the coastal resort town announced they were prohibiting Teslas from entering the district, which is the “site of a secretive annual summer party” for Beijing leadership, starting in July, per Reuters.
  • Although a specific reason wasn’t provided, officials may be concerned that data collected by vehicle cameras could be used for spying purposes, per Electrek.

Other Teslas bans: Earlier this month, the EVs were prohibited from roads in Chengdu during a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

  • Last year, China’s military barred Teslas from bases and housing complexes, citing security concerns over vehicle cameras.
  • Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the cameras weren’t used for spying. He subsequently moved all data generated by Teslas in China to local storage.

Promises aren’t enough: Despite a reportedly positive overall relationship between Tesla and Beijing, the cameras appear to have caused a rift likely rooted in geopolitical tension between China and the US.

  • Tesla was the first foreign automaker with a factory in China that didn’t have a joint venture with a state-owned company.
  • This means the government’s problem isn’t likely with Tesla as a company. It’s more an issue that a US company is operating independently within its borders, with cameras that could potentially be used for surveillance.
  • While many AVs rely on radar and lidar to function, Tesla’s Autopilot uses eight cameras linked to a neural network.
  • The TeslaCam, a built-in dashboard camera, also allows users to record what’s happening ahead of them in traffic.
  • Last year, Tesla released a Sentry Mode feature that monitors a vehicle’s surroundings and records footage of anything close by.

The bigger data privacy picture: The problem isn’t unique to Tesla’s cameras. Generally, there’s not much transparency about what happens to data collected by IoT devices. Although there may be privacy policies in place, they don’t necessarily allow users to “see” what happens to their data.

  • The concerns are justified. Even commonplace devices like Fitbits can compromise military intelligence.
  • Tesla may be bullish on cameras for AV systems, but it’s hardly the only automaker to deploy them. Any vehicle with such devices linked to AI could prompt privacy concerns.
  • This means law enforcement, auto companies, and hackers could potentially access an array of revealing AV data.
  • As IoT-equipped vehicles proliferate, more regulation and transparency are needed to ensure trust in the technology.

Go Deeper: Read our Smart Home Forecast for more on privacy and security concerns with IoT.