VW Crisis Fallout Could Include Inspection Of Automaker Source Code

The fallout from the VW Diesel Emissions crisis might include an audit of vehicle software and a strong demands from the FTC. Those potential issues problems facing VW would be in addition to having 480,000 vehicles that cannot be sold in the U.S and potentially billions in fines from the Environmental Protection Agency.

The FTC is investigating the claims made in Volkswagen advertisements that called their 2.0 Diesel vehicles, ” clean diesels, after findings that the vehicles cheated government emissions systems and actually polluted 10-40 times the legal limit. In a statement Jeannine Ginivan, spokeswoman for Volkswagen indicated the automaker is working with numerous agencies. Ginivan explained, “We have been cooperating with all of the agencies that have come to us.”

Bill Nelson (D-FL) wrote a letter to the FTC asking the government organization to demand a corrective marketing campaign from Volkswagen that explains what he feels VW did deceitfully. In a letter to FTC chairwoman Edith Martinez, Nelson asked the FTC to…”force Volkswagen to launch a comprehensive corrective marketing campaign that would cure the deception and inform consumers about their remedial options. The commission has entered into such consent agreements in the past.”

The Volkswagen diesel emissions crisis could also lead to new controls on automaker software. A Forbes report explored the reasoning behind vehicle source code auditing. If automakers had to have their code inspected for anomalies that could cause the vehicle to bypass emission tests, the extra scrutiny could be seen as a benefit. However, on the other hand, if more individuals can see the code, the security risk could be higher than if it was restricted only to certain individuals with privileged access and expertise inside of an automaker facility.

The current policy allowed by U.S lawmakers is what Forbes called a self-certifying method. Automakers run tests on their software and submit the results to the NHTSA and EPA. While no requirement exists to require Volkswagen or other automakers to use independent experts to examine their source code, it remains a possibility for the future.