Reading the text of the proposal, I find it bizarre that the requirement would be for a mobile app versus, say, a serial connection that allows access to the same data that is transmitted OTA.
This is better than nothing, but this approach would seem to open the door to issues such as previous owners still having access to the data, OEMs obfuscating the API to access the data, the apps being geo-locked and possibly requiring paid subscriptions, etc...
This is why I'm always nervous about these ballot initiatives. They always have a vaguely "homework assignment done the night before the deadline" feel.
The ideas are great but the implementation can be shoddy.
For instance, I think the first thing should have been the ability to easily disable collection, not get an app to watch your privacy be invaded.
It is extremely likely that the legislature will take up this law in the next session and amend it; to extend the deadline, ensure security for the data, and likely negotiate a compromise with automakers.
The 2013 right-to-repair law resulted in a nationwide change to allow OBD access after negotiations with the state legislature.
Some of the data that is intended to be covered by Question 1 is data that was transmitted to the OEM last week. MA already has a right-to-repair law that covers the wired/OBD2 interface (which is a CAN bus interface at this point).
I'm not familiar with the existing law covering OBD2/CAN bus, but I'm pretty sure even when the OBD2 port gives you the ability to communicate with all networks (D-CAN, K-CAN, etc...), it's currently up to the community to reverse engineer the commands etc...
As for data that was transmitted "last week" I'd rather my car not transmit data continuously, and if I wanted to monitor it continuously I could just plug in a scanner with an embedded computer. There are already a multitude of such devices for OBD, both that pair with your phone and which run as independent devices.
The point of the ballot initiative though was to put independent repair shops on the same level as manufacturer-owned service centers with respect to mechanical data which was transmitted wirelessly.
In other words, the prior question covered wired connections, but wireless telematics was a "loophole" of sorts. If I were an OEM and wanted to sell in MA, I had an easy way to get data that would be able to stay proprietary to me and my network of dealers so long as I transmitted that data wirelessly.
I probably agree with you on the continuous data transmission point wrt desirability overall, but given that your car is going to do it anyway, I want that data to not be locked in the OEM garden. This removes that major advantage to using wireless transmission to work around this.
This is better than nothing, but this approach would seem to open the door to issues such as previous owners still having access to the data, OEMs obfuscating the API to access the data, the apps being geo-locked and possibly requiring paid subscriptions, etc...