The question is: does that make you feel safe or nervous? Popular Science is reporting that federal officials are “poised” to announce new regulations next month that will require data recorders to be used in all cars sold domestically. These would be similar to airplane black boxes and would be used for similar purposes: determining, after a crash, what happened, what went wrong, and who was at fault. A lot of cars already have these types of data recorders but the use of that data varies from state to state with some states allowing it to be seized and used as evidence in legal actions. This comes at a time when a lot of courts are struggling with the idea of what constitutes legal search and seizure when it comes to a smartphone found in a car. Is it protected like a private diary or is it admissible like a notepad in plain view?