I also don't like this precedent, but I do still feel cars are quite different. You need a license to drive a car on public roads. The car needs lots of certifications. You need an insurance. You need to prominently display your (your car's) ID for all to see. If you make mistakes while operating a car, the police can stop you and the state can take away your right to drive a car.

This makes it all very different from a gadget you use for entertainment in your own home.

Yeah I agree obviously spyware in cars is way greater threat than one in a TV.

Just to be clear to anyone reading - those SIMs have one purpose only - to automatically call emergency services if you crash.

Do they need a SIM to do an eCall? I'd think not because after all it is a semi-regular emergency call.

So if the car has a SIM it probably could be removed to neutralize it without interfering with the eCall. But eSIMs might be a different problem...

It’s naive to think that this is a) the only current use

Almost everything ever introduced with good intentions gets perverted into something else

Traffic cameras, facial recognition, phone GPS, social media - all can and are used against you in one way shape or form

I’m not saying we shouldn’t have any of those things - I’m saying just open your eyes because e sims are no different

Over twenty years ago there came a mandate that all places with many people gathers (both residential and commercial housing) should have a EN 54‑21 compliant alarm transmitter to automatically notify authorities in case of a fire.

I'm afraid that we are crying wolf right now and are undermining our efforts to permanently shut down Chat Control and the likes when we complain about these efforts with a history of not being misused.

For now...?