By Lauren Fix, The Car Coach
As the US enters a new era of lawmaking, connected cars could become the new front of legal battles.
Most modern cars know their locations better than their owners do. As suites of connected-car apps become mainstream for both emergency functionality or for driver conveniences such as remote start and parking guidance, new vehicles are overflowing with data needed to support always-on connectivity.
Cars are becoming increasingly advanced with the latest technological features that make them smarter than ever. As much as there are advantages that come from this new technology, there are some glaring disadvantages.
While most owners don’t think about hacking of such systems by bad actors, there are still massive quantities of automatically generated data open to anyone with the knowledge to access it. The data is used or sold as advertising data, or to intrude on your privacy.
The data include information about your home, work, and every trip you’ve taken–even your habits, no matter how private. It all can be seen by companies, governments, and individuals you’ve never given permission to, and all of it is completely legal.
The good news is there’s already proposed legislation to combat the current fate of our data privacy. The bad news is we don’t know how long that legislation will take to pass, if it does at all.
Today’s cars come with infotainment systems with the latest software feature constant connection to the Internet, GPS, and voice recognition. Companies can keep user information, track you, and also listen to what is being said inside the car. You sign your right to privacy away when you purchase that vehicle.
Driving a car could even incriminate someone! It’s worth examining just what kind of data the car itself collects and transmits.
Ninety percent of cars sold in the US and around 130 million total cars sold worldwide contain some form of embedded connectivity.
This built-in connectivity can take many forms: built-in Wi-Fi, infotainment systems that connect to cellular networks, and even Bluetooth systems.
All of these systems share a few things in common: they collect and transmit massive amounts of data, usually embedded in the car’s operating data. Owners rarely have control of where that information ends up. It’s called telematics, and it’s a multi-billion-dollar industry with wide-reaching implications for businesses who want to know all about you and what you do.
The data on your vehicle can show the owner’s daily life and routine down to their home, workplace, and frequented gas station, simply by going through stored location data that the infotainment system has automatically logged. The data remains even if you sell your car. The next owner’s information is stored as well.
But it’s not just the data inside your infotainment system that’s a concern.
All of the data–the GPS coordinates of every gear change, acceleration and braking events, and steering inputs are not just stored onboard the car itself, but is frequently sent back to the automaker for storage and analysis.
The owners of this data, which is not you, want your information and telematics to help drivers and map companies spot and avoid traffic congestion by analyzing traffic patterns. Urban planners can use this data to identify roads prone to jams and create more efficient streets. Insurance companies can use it to spot fraud or dangerous driving habits. Manufacturers can identify potential malfunctions to repair.
Yet, with this billion-dollar business comes massive privacy implications. Even with massive data sets comprised of millions of different peoples’ locations, identifying any one person out of those millions is a simple job. Connected cars face the same issues as cell phones. The underlying premise of location tracking is deeply difficult to anonymize, especially when the device in question travels with a person to their work and home.
But companies have very little incentive to reduce the usefulness of location data because often that specificity is what makes it so valuable. There are no laws in the US that require manufacturers not to sell or share the data they collect, and some third-party companies sell the data to track specific vehicles. Not only can this be used by less-than-scrupulous buyers, but previous court precedent in the US allows for federal agencies to buy location datasets to sift through personally identifiable data that would otherwise require a warrant.
Yes, this violates your 4th Amendment Rights.
There is so much more to discuss on this, put your comments below and let’s start the conversation.
The opinions expressed in posts to the NMA Blog belong to the author and do not necessarily represent the National Motorists Association. The content of the NMA Blog is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. No representations are made regarding the accuracy of NMA Blog posts or links found within those posts.
Lauren Fix, The Car Coach®, is a nationally recognized automotive expert, analyst, author, and television host. A trusted car expert, Lauren provides an insider’s perspective on a wide range of automotive topics and aspects, energy, industry, consumer news, and safety issues.
Lauren is the CEO of Automotive Aspects and the Editor-in-Chief of Car Coach Reports, a global automotive news outlet. She is an automotive contributor to national and local television news shows, including Fox News, Fox Business, CNN International, The Weather Channel, Inside Edition, Local Now News, Community Digital News, and more. Lauren also co-hosts a regular show on ABC.com with Paul Brian called “His Turn – Her Turn” and hosts regular radio segments on USA Radio – DayBreak.
Lauren is honored to be inducted into the Women’s Transportation Hall of Fame and a Board Member of the Buffalo Motorcar Museum and Juror / President for the North American Car, Utility & Truck of the Year Awards.
Check her out on Twitter and Instagram @LaurenFix.
