Charging stations for electric cars, in the UK at least, require
motorists to
identify
themselves.
The article focuses on the fact that the charging IDs are not secure
against third parties. However, I think the fact that the charging
station identifies the motorist is the worst injustice. We need laws
requiring charging stations to allow anonymous use. This should
include paying cash or with an anonymous digital system such as GNU
Taler. Drivers on a plan that covers the cost of charging should be
able to demonstrate digitally that they are members without revealing
their identities.
Some charging stations collect
a lot more data than
that.
We need laws to require them to offer anonymous charging, for cash,
without collecting any information except the price charged.