The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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Modern cars are essentially computers with wheels.
Large corporations are now using these tools to collect private information about your life and make more money.
If you think driving is an opportunity to feel free, you may need to reevaluate your attitude because things are about to get worse.
If you examine the privacy policies of car companies, you will see that this is highlighted, but you probably weren’t paying attention.
The information they collect can include precise data on everywhere you go, who you are with in the car, what you are listening to on the radio, and even whether you are wearing a seat belt, driving too fast, or if you brake frequently.
Some of these databases may collect information you didn’t expect, such as your weight, age, race, and facial features.
Some cars even have cameras pointed at the driver’s seat. Many cars also have an internet connection that can send this data while you’re driving.
This is a privacy issue that could cost you dearly. Insurance companies are among the biggest consumers of vehicle data, and they use this data to increase insurance premiums for some drivers.
But you have no way of knowing where your information is going.
Some car companies agree to sell your data, but they are not obligated to say who bought it.
Experts say the vast majority of users are not even aware that their information is being collected and sold.
“People may be surprised by the number of data points their cars collect and send to the manufacturer or third-party apps,” says Darrell West, a senior research fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Technology Innovation in Washington, DC.
“This means that your life can be replayed like a film tape showing every second of what you do in a day,” he says succinctly on the subject.
Are you still knocking?
Additionally, there is a law planned to be implemented in the United States that will limit the amount of data your electronic device can collect about you.
Soon, American car companies will be required to install infrared cameras and other systems to analyze your behavior, and determine whether you are drunk or too tired to drive.
But this will also open up a whole new trove of data about your health and behavior. There is no law regulating what car companies can do with this private information.
Despite these details that may affect some motorists, experts say this technology also has its advantages. Internet-connected cars can improve. Installed sensors can make drivers more careful and this will help improve road safety. Insurance companies can charge you a small premium for being a good driver.
Fear of data leaks
Consulting firm McKinsey predicted that 50% of cars on the road will have internet connectivity by 2021, and that this number will rise to 95% by 2030.
If your car is connected to the internet, personal information and privacy are definitely things you need to consider.
Car companies can also track you when you connect your phone to the infotainment system or use certain apps designed for driving.
Some motorists use insurance companies’ telemetry systems, which allow for tracking, to reduce premiums.
A 2023 analysis by Mozilla, the maker of the Firefox browser, examined the privacy policies of 25 car brands. None of them met the privacy and security standards Mozilla used to compare brands. Mozilla said that cars were “the worst product category they’ve ever studied in terms of privacy.”
According to the report, car companies reserve the right to collect information including your name, age, skin color, weight, financial information, facial features, psychological tendencies and so on.
For example, Kia’s privacy policy states that the company can even collect information about your “sex life” and general health.
Kia spokesman James Bell maintains that the company has never collected data about their sex lives or health.
Bell notes that the reason this information is only included in Kia’s privacy policy is because the company lists it under the California state definition of “confidential data.”
Bell insists that Kia’s privacy policies are clear and that the company shares data with insurance companies with the consent of motorists. However, the company has not specified what types of “sensitive data” it collects.
Cars are being censored in places you can’t imagine.
Whether it’s on the seats, on the dashboard, in the engine, on the steering wheel, almost everywhere. For example, many cars have cameras inside and outside.
If you’re doing something on a modern version of a new car, companies are more likely to know about it.
Mozilla said that 19 car companies have indicated that they are willing to sell data, and that is exactly what is happening.
In the United States, General Motors (GM) has been sued for allegedly selling vehicle location data without permission.
US senators have also accused Honda and Hyundai of similar actions, and these are just a few publicly known examples.
The situation could be worse.
This situation indicates that companies have the ability to interfere in your personal life sometimes without you even knowing.
For example, General Motors sold driver data to a data brokerage firm known as LexisNexis. This company buys and sells information about car users.
The driver who obtained a copy of the data claimed that LexisNexis contained 130 pages of data detailing every trip he and his wife had taken within a six-month period.
The driver told the New York Times that after his insurance premiums increased by 21 percent, the insurance agent he spoke to said that those figures were what contributed to the increase.
LexisNexis did not respond to a request for comment on the report.
The US National Trade Commission took action against GM and the company was banned from selling vehicle data for five years.
But they will be able to continue this exercise later, as long as they meet certain conditions, such as obtaining permission from the vehicle owners.
As this happens, companies like LexisNexis continue to sell the data they collect from car manufacturers and the apps that people use while driving.
GM and LexisNexis did not respond to our request for comment.
Agreements between insurance companies, automakers, and data brokers are common, and as long as the practices are clearly outlined in the privacy policies you agree to, everything is perfectly legal.
Michael DeLong, an auto insurance researcher at the Consumer Federation of America, a US-based non-governmental organization, says, “Insurance companies collect vast amounts of consumer data, especially driving data, and use it to charge people higher premiums, deny them coverage, or categorize customers into different groups.”
Car companies say they got permission before tracking you.
Typically, this means agreeing to privacy policies when you install your car’s infotainment system or apps. In some cars, these appear every time you start the engine. But have you read them? You probably haven’t.
The United States does not have a national privacy law. Protections against privacy violations vary from state to state, according to some experts, and this one falls short of the requirements.
The situation is similar in Europe, especially in the UK. There are specific protections for the types of sensitive information that are collected, and users have the right to access their data and request that it be deleted by companies. However, this issue is still unresolved even in Europe.
