As connected consumers, we typically realize the benefit of giving up certain personal data. From swiping a frequent buyer's card at the supermarket to posting pictures of a meal at a restaurant on Facebook, the digital trail we leave behind via our online transactions and interactions equate to big business for companies that gather, parse, and sell big data.
This will also be the ultimate payoff from the connected car, which is why automakers want to control the data generated by their vehicles. But they also need to control and protect driver privacy, which is why this week the auto industry made steps towards letting drivers know what data connected cars collect and how the information is used.
The principles cover data such as a vehicle's location, behind-the-wheel behavior, and even biometric data about a driver's physical characteristics, and will require the car companies that have signed on to receive permission for certain uses of data starting with model year 2017. This includes consent from customers to use personal information for marketing such as geo-targeted ads based on the driver's location and providing insurance companies with individual driving behavior data. Automakers could still collect anonymous driver data, but only to help find a stolen vehicle or for diagnostics, warranty, maintenance, or regulatory compliance purposes.
The automakers agreed to disclose to consumers the kinds of data collected and how it is to be used or shared via a vehicle's owner's manuals, on screens inside vehicles, or Internet-based registration sites. The data privacy policies will also be available for consumer to review before buying a car.
Will This Really Protect Consumers?
Some privacy advocates and policymakers feel that the principles don't go far enough. In a statement, AAA said that it "is encouraged that automakers are taking a first step to address consumer rights with connected car data, but this agreement falls short of providing consumers the right to control their own information." Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, advocated for legislation as opposed to the automakers' voluntary principles.
Markey Paul Schwartz, a law professor at the University of California who specializes in information privacy, agreed that the new automaker principles are a good starting point. But he also pointed out that even companies with a long history in data analytics are dealing with questions of whether using personal data, even after it's been anonymized, is a breach of privacy.
"That's a huge debate going on now in the age of big data," Schwartz told Automotive News. "I don't think [this document] is necessarily where that debate gets resolved, and in a way, it's not reasonable to expect the auto industry to figure out something that we, as a society, still have not figured out."
As with other—and often free—tech features ranging from Google Maps to streaming music, the cost of similar conveniences in connected vehicles may ultimately be giving up some personal data. And it may be up to each driver to know the price they're paying for it. After all, few bother to read the privacy fine print when it comes to swiping a frequent buyer's card or posting to Facebook, but are willing to give up this data if they know they'll get some reward in return. Or that they can choose to opt out.