Chinese concerned foreign AVs may spy

Chinese authorities’ fear that foreign driverless cars could be used for spying may see regulators use exclusively domestic technology there.

Foreign carmakers say they face restrictions in China around the technology, and the government is citing national security concerns in seeking to limit high-resolution cameras and GPS-equipped cars from free access to China’s roads, the Financial Times reports

A representative of one global carmaker says there are obstacles to driving around China taking photos and recording GPS co-ordinates, these linked with China’s national defence policies.

Accurate GPS mapping of China can only be done by Chinese companies.

China’s security agencies are concerned driverless vehicles which use cameras, sensors like Lidar and GPS mapping can also be used to spy, analysts say.

But Chinese companies working on autonomous driving technology tell the Financial Times

they have not faced the same objections.

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology was not immediately available to comment, it says.

Any company putting out an autonomous vehicle in China must work with one of 13 licensed Chinese companies for high-definition mapping.

Road testing of autonomous cars in China is banned until new regulations can be introduced, possibly as early as February.