As of June 2011, all new cars manufactured and sold in the US were required to have a small black box device installed. Each black box monitored different physical and technical data points on the vehicle.
The government believes these black boxes can have numerous advantages. With them, all tiers of government can monitor and record information for revenue groups.
For instance, in March of 2011, the Congressional Budget Office issued a proposal to tax mileage. This revenue would help pay for the federal budget deficit. The little black boxes installed on each vehicle would record that mileage in order to tax it.
Local government would be able to download information from the boxes, in order to issue driving tickets after the fact.
As with any government program, debate is prevelant. While some groups are praising the boxes for helping law enforcement and emergency services, others find it to be a violation of privacy.
Will these black boxes be utilized more fully in the future?