People Don't Know What Data Their Cars Are Collecting

When we talk about online privacy, we’re usually talking about personal computers and mobile devices. But online privacy is becoming an issue in other ares of our lives. One area? Cars.

Jonathan M. Gitlin reports in Ars Technica that connected cars — cars that have a modem that gives them internet access — are not only becoming increasingly common, but most people are actually aware of the privacy implications of these newer devices. According to a report from Chetan Sharma Consulting, more cars than new cellphones were added to the cellular network in 2017. AT&T alone added “a million or more” cars to its network every quarter for the past 11 quarters.

Take a minute to think about how large a shift that is.

So what do connected cars actually mean? It turns out, customers don’t really know.

Gitlin points out that it’s notable that many customers — almost 40 percent — don’t trust their cars to “automatically react to driving conditions,” according to a survey of 1,500 connected car owners that was conducted by Solace. When the information was separated out into age groups, it turns out older people are more likely to trust automatic reactions (i.e. automatic breaking) than younger people: 33 percent of people 65 and older said they wouldn’t trust automatic reactions from their cars, compared with 46 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 25.

But while that’s bad news for the companies that are eventually going to have to sell the idea of self-driving cars to the American public, more interesting for us is the lack of education around the data these cars are collecting. The same devices that can help warn drivers of safety hazards, give traffic info, and even entertain drivers and passengers is also collecting a lot of information about those same drivers. And they don’t necessarily realize it.

For example, according to the survey from Solace, only 38 percent of connected car owners knew that their cars could and do store personally identifiable information — and 48 percent didn’t know that fact at all. While there’s no way to say at this point if that lack of knowledge is due to consumer’s not paying attention or to car companies being a little bit shady about what information they share with consumers, it’s undeniable that this data is a rich source of potential income for the manufacturers of the hardware.

In fact, they say so in their own words in Gitlin’s piece.

Ben Volkow, CEO of the “first connected car data marketplace for the simple and safe sharing and distribution of vehicle data,” Otonomo, told Gitlin that customer data is potentially worth billions of dollars to companies like his, who will repackage it and sell it interested parties. He cites fuel companies’ interest in everything from when people stop to what they buy at gas stations to why they make those purchases. That’s just one example of how data from connected cars could be packaged and sold.

Of course, it’s up to every individual how much privacy they’re willing to give away for convenience. And if recent history has anything to say about the future, it seems likely that a lot of people will be willing to give up this element of privacy for the benefits that come with connected cars. However, recent history has also shown us that it’s important to be informed of what data we’re giving away — as well as when and how. As it’s not in the best interest of most corporations to do that, it’s up to us as consumers to educate ourselves and each other.

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