Mazda’s DMCA takedown kills a hobbyist’s smart car API tool

man, remember when you could buy a car and it wasnt connected to the internet?

What a load of horse shit.

Just like with hue, and Chromecast, and Android TV, and a million other smart devices, it's perfectly lawful (and IMHO necessary) for individuals to launch their own integrations with their the products they own. People don't need their bullshit "service", and by buying the vehicle they have a legally protected right to alter it and it's software for their own use.

That they bullied this guy into taking down the repo despite what the law protects him to do is disgusting, if not also predictable.

I hope someone with the time and resources goes to the matt with one of these shit companies and make them own up to their exploitative practices.

I for one will be altering my Mazda how I want and sharing my alterations to get around their shit subscription model with everyone I can.

Then charge me 5€/month and give me an access token. Fuckers.

But likely, having whatever data the app collects is deemed more valuable than that.

God forbid. Wouldn't want users to find any of this useful in novel ways. Because that never makes a product popular or anything. And Mazda might lose hundreds of dollars or something. Gasp.

Pretty soon we'll have to subscribe to our car's trunk.