The FTC order in favour of car owners’ privacy was levied against General Motors, but has industry-wide implications
Big news on the spying-car front.
Drivers’ privacy being compromised by auto manufacturers
Drivers were unaware that signing up for an app to enable them to use nav systems or emergency services, or things with game-like titles like “improve your driving score” were actually recording driving data that was, in turn, being sold to third parties including data brokers and insurance companies. We report continually about insurance rates setting record highs, which is usually explained away by pointing out that complicated modern vehicles cost more than ever to repair. Throw in increasingly wild weather events and it almost makes sense. But how many of us have seen rates explode because our cars have been ratting us out?
“For example, one consumer told a GM customer service representative that “[w]hen I signed up for this, it was so OnStar could track me. They said nothing about reporting it to a third party. Nothing. […] You guys are affecting our bottom line. I pay you, now you’re making me pay more to my insurance company,” reports The Verge.
Car owners need more control over their privacy
The FTC order allows for owners to obtain and delete information that has been collected, and allows for them to opt out. This is critical. Currently, some applications an owner may be accepting that include harvesting their data to sell to the highest (unnamed) bidder are tied to features they could reasonably be expected to use, like remote starting, vehicle functions, infotainment systems and service communications. As consumers, it’s time to start reading the fine print and quit relying on a sales rep to tell you what to do.
What does the FTC settlement mean?
Mark Whinton, an automotive forensic investigator, says the FTC settlement with GM is a game-changer. Well, it should be. “It should be huge, there’s a thirty-day window for public comment, and then the FTC will make its final ruling. But keep in mind what’s happening in that country in the next thirty days,” says Whinton. He’s right: we’re entering the most unstable time in recent memory when it comes to regulation. Consumers need this settlement to hold because it will affect all automakers who have spent billions on telematics for data collection — to sell. “This is going to be a massive kick in the head to them,” says Whinton.
Many of us are inured to pages of tiny print that constitute the terms and conditions for nearly everything in our lives. Whinton’s concern (beyond the fact so few of us actually read them) is the built-in defence wordings in too many of those pages. “There are some car companies I’ve investigated, and basically, if you get in and use the key to start it, you’ve accepted the terms and conditions.” It’s the same thing as checking that box when you visit a website, but nobody should be accepting these unclear (or non-existent) terms regarding privacy about their car so casually.
What’s next?
While Consumer Reports was pleased with this recent outcome, it was also explicit in requiring more of the federal agency. “Secretly collecting and sharing driver location data is a terrible practice that can cause real harm to unsuspecting consumers. We are encouraged that the FTC is taking action under existing consumer protection law to put a stop to it. But because of ambiguity in the law, the best way to avoid these types of abuses in the future is a strong and clear comprehensive privacy law that restricts unwanted data sharing by default.”
We don’t need the courts to remind you that using a nav system means where you go will be recorded and kept; we need them to ensure that information isn’t sold to be used against you without your knowledge. This ruling is against General Motors, but it has implications that are industry-wide.
Oh, and why only five years?
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