No Dough, No Go! Technology Disables Car if You Miss a Payment!

Concerned about defaults on car loans to sub-prime borrowers (people with bad credit histories), lenders now can insist that a clever computerized box be installed in your car to alert you when your payment is due. When the lights start flashing, you know your payment is coming due. On the day the payment is due, the box also beeps incessantly.

When you make your payment you receive a six digit code to punch into the box. Without the code, your car is disabled and with new options such as tying the devices into GPS systems, it is easy for the repo man to locate the vehicle and repossess it!



Companies such as Sekurus (who makes a device called On Time) sell the devices to financing companies at up to $250 per box. Why would the finance companies invest so heavily in the devices? Because defaults on high-risk loans are cut from 30% to 5% when devices such as On Time are installed in the vehicle and the devices can drastically cut the time and expense of repossession.

Discussion Questions for Students:
1) How would you feel about having a device such as On Time installed in your car? What if it was the only way you could obtain a car loan for a vehicle you needed to commute to work?
2) Do you think it is ethical for a company to disable a car when a customer misses a payment? Should there be extenuating circumstances that would prevent the car from being disabled or repossessed?
3) If a GPS tracking device was installed in your vehicle, what potential ethical issues could arise from people (your parents, the police, your employer, the loan company) examining the data gathered by the GPS? Does this change how you feel about having a GPS device installed in your car?

Would You Like a Little Cholesterol Medication with That Pizza?

Many people are concerned that technology and the Internet are eroding our personal privacy. The video below is the ACLU's slant on what it might be like to order a pizza in the near future. Fasten your seat belts...its going to be a bumpy ride!



Now we all hope that this level of scrutiny doesn't happen but my local pizza parlor already tracks orders by phone number. So when I call they usually have a pretty good guess about what I'm going to order. At least they don't have access to my medical records, library records and magazine subscription information...yet. But with all this information in databases, it is theoretically possible to consolidate it all at the pizza parlor.

Fortunately, the privacy of medical records is protected by law. But say the local pizza parlor did run a coupon in Men's Health magazine. They could buy the list of local subscribers from the magazine and integrate it into their database that is keyed off of caller ID. Then they would be able to mention the coupon to callers who subscribed to Men's Health. It presents interesting possibilities.

Discussion Questions for Students:
1) What types of personal information would you feel comfortable with a merchant (like a pizza parlor) having about you? What types of information would you never want revealed to retailers?
2) What is your position on a national ID card (or the REAL ID)? Is preventing terrorism worth giving up some personal privacy rights?
3) Should personal medical information be more readily available if it could be used to protect your health? Would you feel comfortable with a server at a restaurant recommending healthy food choices based on your medical history?