Tesla is filming you without permission. And that is no longer allowed in the Netherlands

Data protection legislation in the Netherlands is strict. For example, you hear on the plane that you are not allowed to film other passengers and staff without permission. But Tesla is filming you without permission. And that’s no longer allowed.

Teslas are equipped with a so-called sentry mode. When you park the car, it monitors the surroundings with four cameras. This is to prevent theft and vandalism.

Tesla films everyone who approaches the car

The problem, however, is that the cameras record continuously, storing an hour of footage at a time for the driver to view. For example, these images show all sorts of people passing in front of or behind the car.

“Serious invasion of privacy”

The Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) has a problem with this. “Many Teslas parked on the street film everyone who approaches the car and keep these pictures for far too long,” says board member Katja Mur. “If every car does that, you get a situation where you can no longer walk freely on the street without being spied on.”

Mur: “Pedestrians are filmed without their knowledge. The Tesla owner can review these images. If he parks the car in front of someone’s window, he can look in and see what that person is doing. This is a serious invasion of privacy.”

Cameras are not only allowed to record

Tesla made a number of adjustments in consultation with the AP. In the Netherlands, sentry mode is now only used when the car is touched. And not as soon as the cameras see “suspicious” movement around the car. The car is no longer filmed as standard, but the owner receives an SMS on his mobile phone.

The Tesla can still take camera pictures (up to 10 minutes), but only if the user activates this function themselves in response to the SMS. When the cameras are rolling, the Tesla’s headlights will flash and a notification will appear on the central screen. That’s how people know they’re being filmed, according to the AP.