Universidad Nacional Autónoma de

México

Facultad de Estudios Superiores

Acatlán

Administración de bases de datos

Profesor: Javier Rosas Hernández

Alumno: Erick Pérez Mendoza

Grupo: 1702
Article 1.
The article can be found at the next link: https://techcrunch.com/2023/08/14/tesla-
reassures-chinese-users-on-data-security-amid-spying-concerns/

Comment.
I find it interesting how large companies encounter significant challenges,
particularly concerning the management of user data. Not all countries have the same
laws, beliefs, etc. Therefore, when it comes to citizens' privacy, there is a certain
uncertainty when granting access to applications or products. If this happens with
individuals, it certainly applies to governments as well.
Today, there's an information war between the United States and China, with
China aiming to surpass the US as the leading economic power. This has become a
problem for Western companies to establish themselves in the Asian market, and vice
versa. For instance, TikTok faced numerous regulations to operate in the United States.
It's intriguing how this government conflict impacts people's lives to a certain extent. It
reminds me of the Cold War era, when there was a cultural battle between the URSS
and the United States.
On the other hand, it's not a crazy idea to think that governments of respective
countries seek to gain an "advantage" by accessing information from globally
circulating companies. This is why I understand governments' efforts to regulate how
foreign companies handle their citizens' data.
However, it's also concerning to ponder the rise of a new economic powerhouse,
but in my opinion, this situation might lead other governments to realize that capitalism
isn't the sole functional form of governance. Yet, there's currently no form of
government without both positive and negative aspects. But for a socialist government
to attain the status of a major power could mark a historic event with enormous future
repercussions.

Summary.
The summary is on the next pages.
Government & Policy

Tesla reassures Chinese users on data security amid

spying concerns
Rita Liao
@ritacyliao / 12:35 AM CST • August 15, 2023

Image Credits: STR/AFP / Getty Images

The relationship between American tech giants and the Chinese government has never been an easy one. We reported
previously how Apple finds itself in a predicament as it strives to conquer the colossal smartphone market in China, the
world’s largest. The tech giant has to balance appeasing both Beijing and Western politicians, which tend to disagree on
data regulation and censorship.

Now as Tesla becomes a major electric vehicle player in China, it finds itself in a similar dilemma. A recent, wide-ranging
update to Beijing’s anti-espionage legislation is also prompting foreign firms to take a closer look at the risks of operating in
the country that has turned national security into a top priority.

Foreign automakers have been in China for decades, but internet-connected vehicles have given rise to a slew of new data-
compliance requirements that did not affect traditional carmakers. Tesla has already encountered data security backlashes
in the country.

Over the past weekend, local media reported that an airport in a Southern city with a population of 1 million had banned
Tesla vehicles from parking due to “confidentiality concerns,” though drop-offs and pick-ups are still allowed. An airport
worker told the press that “many places have a similar rule.”

The policy is supposedly a response to Tesla’s “sentry mode.” The feature, which uses a car’s external cameras to detect
suspicious activity when the vehicle is left unattended, is designed to guard against break-ins and thefts. And despite similar
features in other local EV makers, Tesla’s foreign identity clearly results in more trust issues.

In response to the media attention, Tesla stated in a Weibo post that data generated from Sentry Mode is “only stored offline
on the USB device inside the car,” and, unlike some other brands, “neither the owner nor Tesla” can remotely view the
vehicle’s surroundings online.

According to Tesla China’s website, Sentry Mode needs to be activated manually in the car’s system setting and the camera
will only begin recording when a threat is detected, provided that a USB flash drive is also in place. Users “must review and
comply with local laws, regulations, and any applicable rules regarding the use of cameras and assume full responsibility,”
the website notes.
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This isn’t the first time that Tesla cars have been known to be excluded from public venues. In May 2021, Reuters reported
that some government compounds in China had barred Tesla vehicles from entering.

In its Weibo post, Tesla also reminds the public that it had long set up a data localization center in accordance with China’s
automobile data protection measures introduced in 2021. The guideline, which aims to “protect drivers’ privacy and
safeguard national security,” requires “vital data” to be stored within China if it “involves such things as China’s military,
government, traffic, and logistics information, as well as electric vehicles’ charging networks.” Visual information about an
airport’s surroundings seems to easily fall into one of these categories.

Apple is among the few remaining American tech giants that maintain a significant presence in China. Like Tesla, it faces
data privacy issues in the country, but its challenge is amplified by its colossal app store that requires close and timely
oversight to ensure app developers adhere to China’s intricate internet regulations.

Tesla will soon face a new issue around data isolation once it switches Full Self-Driving on for Chinese users. Speculation
has been around for months that the advanced driving feature will be available in China in 2023. The situation presents a
dilemma similar to that faced by TikTok in the U.S.: How can a company effectively carry out AI training with foreign user
data if it is prohibited from exporting that data to its home country on the one hand, while it’s probably reluctant to entrust its
foreign staff with its proprietary algorithms to conduct on-the-ground training on the other?

There might be a solution, according to this Twitter user:

Matt Salts · Aug 9, 2023

@SaltasticTakes · Follow
Replying to @teslashanghai
How can the training be done if data can’t leave PRC and US will never
allow training supercluster to be exported there ?

It seems that the best PRC can get is good HWY Autopilot… there’s
enough hwy footage that

jimmah
@jamesdouma · Follow

One way: Final training doesn’t take as long as dev training

(less than 1%). Once they have developed the architecture
and methods in US they could replicate in PRC on PRC
data to train shipping product. There are other ways too.
3:32 PM · Aug 9, 2023

5 Reply Copy link

Read 2 replies

We shall see the technical viability of such a solution or other methods when FSD finally arrives in China. Privacy challenges
aside, it will also take Tesla “at least 12 months” to localize FSD for China’s complex road conditions, said the former AI
head of Tesla’s Chinese rival, Xpeng. FSD has a long way to go in the world’s largest EV market.