After the American Government announced restrictions on vehicles with Chinese connected car software, the European Union is looking at blocks on Chinese connected-car technology too.

The website Politico reports European officials have echoed Washington’s concerns about the spying, surveillance and sabotage risks posed by what EU digital czar Margrethe Vestager described as “computers on wheels.”

A connected car “can register everything where it is, and it can also transmit that data to those who have access to the data,” Vestager told reporters on a visit to the US. The EU’s services “are looking at this, also with our economic security experts,” she said, adding “it’s legitimate to look into whether or not that kind of technology can be misused when it comes to security issues.”

The website says the focus on Chinese car technology opens up another front in an ongoing battle among the US, China and other regions over who controls key technologies like artificial intelligence, microchips and 5G and that the rivalry is driven by fears of espionage, sabotage, economic coercion tactics and supply chain disruptions.

(Picture – Yay Images)