You just made me realize how self-driving cars can be (ab)used by police or higher organisations to track citizens, and stop a crime.
Knowing what they are currently trying to do with the Internet, them wanting to have some control over the self-driving cars wouldn't surprise me.
To some people it may seem clear how much of a benefit this would be. "Wow, the police are actually able to lock down a getaway car and arrest people who have just committed a bank robbery?".
But, there's a reason I wrote "(ab)used" up there, you probably understand the implications already.
Going back to the subway metaphor: if you by your NYC metrocard with a credit card, the police can (and do) track you. There have been incidents with people being charged with---and exonerated from---crimes on the basis of their travel logs.
