If you've used an OBDII device to make your car or truck more powerful by circumventing its emissions devices, you may soon be in big trouble. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has subpoenaed Apple and Google, ordering them to provide information on at least 100,000 users of the EZ Lynk Auto Agent app, reports Forbes. While this is intended as a means of ensuring there are consequences for those who break the law, albeit now only a civil violation rather than a criminal one, the DOJ's order raises privacy concerns.
Two Sides to the EZ Lynk and DOJ Story
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According to Forbes, a joint letter from EZ Lynk and the DOJ to the court argues the legality of releasing user data. EZ Lynk disputes the validity of the subpoenas sent to Apple and Google, from whose app stores the software was downloaded, and Walmart and Amazon, from where the OBDII dongles were purchased. Meanwhile, the DOJ says it needs access because its lawyers want to interview users about how they used EZ Lynk products so it can take matters further. "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," wrote EZ Lynk's lawyers. "Investigating this claim does not require identifying each person who has used the product."
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In retort, the DOJ's legal team claims that, by accepting EZ Lynk's terms and conditions, these users "no longer have a cognizable privacy interest as to that information." If the DOJ gets its way, it will get the identities, addresses, and purchase histories of all EZ Lynk buyers and users. Herein lies the biggest problem.
DOJ Could Get Data of Innocent Users
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While it's unlikely that a user would not know that it is illegal to activate emissions defeat protocols using EZ Lynk's technology, not all of its users have done so, and their data would be released to the DOJ, too. And as noted by The Drive, it's also puzzling that this is even a priority for the DOJ following the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to delay Tier 4 emissions standards until model year 2029, making good on Trump's commitment to less stringent fuel economy rules. Trump also pardoned a diesel tuner who was convicted of removing emission-regulation components from trucks, so asking for information on users who may or may not have done the same thing seems very odd indeed.
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