An X post from @WallStreetApes shared a video from YouTuber Ben Hardy, who reviews cars under the channel BenHardyCars, showing an interior camera inside a brand new 2027 Mini Cooper.
In the video, Hardy said, "This is the first thing I noticed when I got inside: camera. It's just, I guess, commonplace nowadays. It's like every new car I get in has some sort of interior camera."
The X post that shared the clip stated the camera can be used for security and for taking selfies, and that it can capture snapshots, video, and detect break-ins.
American gets into a brand new 2027 Mini Cooper, he looks up and there’s an interior camera
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) August 2, 2026
The camera is used for security and taking selfies. It can take both snapshots, videos and detect break-ins
It’s confirmed that this camera can connect to the internet, so remote… pic.twitter.com/HISOnkeQ0c
The post also said the camera can connect to the internet, allowing for remote monitoring, and argued that even if automakers describe a single intended use, the hardware "theoretically" has broader surveillance capability.
According to Federal law, Section 24220 of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require "advanced drunk and impaired driving prevention technology" in new passenger vehicles, with automakers widely expected to rely on infrared cameras and sensors to passively monitor driver alertness.
However, NHTSA has not yet finalized a rule for how that technology must work, and the agency told Congress in a report cited by WC Shipping that current impairment-detection systems have "unacceptable error rates."
One commenter argued that any connected camera should be treated as a security risk regardless of its stated purpose. They wrote, "As a systems rule of thumb: if the hardware exists, has power, and is connected to the internet, assume the data is being collected and stored somewhere you cannot control. Trusting a software setting or a pinky promise from a manufacturer to disable a physical sensor is a massive vulnerability."
As a systems rule of thumb: if the hardware exists, has power, and is connected to the internet, assume the data is being collected and stored somewhere you cannot control. Trusting a software setting or a pinky promise from a manufacturer to disable a physical sensor is a…
— Jure Ursic Cergol (@JureUrsic) August 2, 2026
Another connected the camera to the federal mandate, writing, "This was from a bill passed a few years ago and this will be in all new vehicles in 2027. They can monitor who is in the car and if you are drinking and they can even tell the vehicle to get you to a police station. Better buy 2026 and before." The claim that the system can direct a vehicle to a police station is not supported by the text of the federal mandate or by NHTSA's current guidance.
One commenter said the concern was being blown out of proportion for an average driver. "If someone wants to watch me singing down the highway, cursing, or calling my dentist, go for it," they wrote. "Unless you have a reason to worry, ignore the stupid camera."
The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify Ben Hardy's specific claims about the Mini Cooper's camera capabilities or the claims made in the @WallStreetApes caption about the camera's surveillance functions. Information about the federal impaired-driving mandate was drawn from Consumer Reports' coverage of Section 24220 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and from NHTSA's publicly available documentation. The Daily Dot could not independently locate the NHTSA report to Congress cited in this article.
