The European Commission (the “Commission”) has launched an Open Public Consultation for building trust in Connected and Automated Mobility(the “CAM Consultation”) on the main challenges linked to the deployment of connected and automated mobility services in Europe and how trust should be built in such services. This CAM Consultation, which largely takes the form of an electronic multiple choice survey, is aimed at gathering input from the general public and relevant stakeholders – such as car manufacturers, connectivity providers, service providers, telecom providers, end-users and public authorities including municipalities, the health community and civil society organisations.

The CAM Consultation follows on from the Commission’s Communication on Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) (the “Communication”) released in May 2018, which put forward a strategy to make Europe a “world leader in the deployment of connected and automated mobility”. Additional details on the CAM Consultation can be accessed here.

The CAM Consultation is presented by the Commission in the context of the increasingly vast number of sensors, driver assistance systems and internet connectivity equipped in modern cars, that are leading to them becoming smarter, more connected and autonomous. In addition, these ever smarter cars are able to exchange information with other similar cars, remote databases and even the road infrastructure, with the goal of providing new mobility services. As has been observed by other regulators across the globe, the European Commission has also publicly acknowledged that we now live in a world where “fully autonomous vehicles are just around the corner”. Therefore, the question is not if, but when – and how soon?

The Communication saw the Commission set out an ambitious European agenda for connected and autonomous vehicles. One of the envisaged steps involves the Commission working towards the adoption of a Recommendation (the “Recommendation”), addressed to Member States and industry actors, addressing material issues to ensure that the EU legal and policy infrastructure is not only prepared to support safe, connected and automated mobility, but that there is public acceptance of the technology.

To gather information for that Recommendation, the CAM Consultation reaches out to both the general public and specialised actors in the mobility space to gather views on the following important issues:

1. cybersecurity threats;
2. trust issues;
3. a data governance framework enabling data sharing, in line with privacy and data protection legislation including the 2018 Data Package; and
4. different aspects of technology needs for pioneering 5G large-scale testing or pre-deployment.

The CAM Consultation closes on 4 December 2018, with a short summary of the results to be published on the Digital Single Market webpage within one month, and the Recommendation set to be adopted by the end of 2018/beginning of 2019.

Jonathan Benjamin is a Trainee Solicitor who attended the University of Aberdeen. He contributed to this post.