BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Carmakers fail privacy test, give owners little or no control on personal data they collect

Sep 6, 2023, 2:00 PM | Updated: 5:40 pm

Image of heavy traffic heading south on Interstate 93 over the Zakim Bridge...

FILE - Heavy traffic heads south on Interstate 93 over the Zakim Bridge, Friday, Sep. 1, 2023, in Boston. Cars are getting an “F” in data privacy. A new study released Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, found that most major brands admit they may be selling your personal data, with half saying they will share it with the government or law enforcement without a court order. (Michael Dwyer, Associated Press)

(Michael Dwyer, Associated Press)

BOSTON (AP) — Cars are getting an “F” in data privacy. Most major manufacturers admit they may be selling your personal information, a new study finds, with half also saying they would share it with the government or law enforcement without a court order.

The proliferation of sensors in automobiles — from telematics to fully digitized control consoles — has made them prodigious data-collection hubs.

But drivers are given little or no control over the personal data their vehicles collect, researchers for the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation researchers said Wednesday in their latest “Privacy Not Included” survey Security standards are also vague, a big concern given automakers’ track record of susceptibility to hacking.

“Cars seem to have really flown under the privacy radar and I’m really hoping that we can help remedy that because they are truly awful,” said Jen Caltrider, the study’s research lead. “Cars have microphones and people have all kinds of sensitive conversations in them. Cars have cameras that face inward and outward.”

Unless they opt for a used, pre-digital model car, buyers “just don’t have a lot of options,” Caltrider said.

Cars scored worst for privacy among more than a dozen product categories — fitness trackers, reproductive-health apps, vehicles and smart speakers and other connected home appliances — that Mozilla has studied since 2017.

Not one of the 25 car brands studied — chosen for their popularity in Europe and North America — met the minimum privacy standards of Mozilla, which promotes open-source, public interest technologies and maintains the Firefox browser. By contrast, 37% of the mental health apps the non-profit reviewed this year did.

Nineteen automakers say they can sell your personal data, the notices reveal. Half will share your information with government or law enforcement in response to a “request” — as opposed to requiring a court order. Only two — Renault and Dacia, which are not sold in North America — offer drivers the option to have their data deleted.

“Increasingly, most cars are wiretaps on wheels,” said Albert Fox Cahn, a technology and human rights fellow at Harvard’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. “The electronics that drivers pay more and more money to install are collecting more and more data on them and their passengers.”

“There is something uniquely invasive about transforming the privacy of one’s car into a corporate surveillance space,” he added.

A trade group representing the makers of most cars and light trucks sold in the U.S., the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, took issue with that characterization. In a letter sent Tuesday to U.S. House and Senate leadership, it said it shares “the goal of protecting the privacy of consumers.”

It called for a federal privacy law, saying a “patchwork of state privacy laws creates confusion among consumers about their privacy rights and makes compliance unnecessarily difficult.” The absence of such a law lets connected devices and smartphones amass data for tailored ad targeting and other marketing — while also raising the odds of massive information theft through cybersecurity breaches.

The Associated Press asked the Alliance, which has resisted efforts to provide car owners and independent repair shops with access to onboard data, if it supports allowing car buyers to automatically opt out of data collection — and granting them the option of having collected data deleted. Spokesman Brian Weiss said that for safety reasons the group “has concerns” about letting customers completely opt out — but does endorse giving them greater control over how the data is used in marketing and by third parties.

In a 2020 Pew Research survey, 52% of Americans said they had opted against using a product or service because they were worried about the amount of personal information it would collect about them.

On security, Mozilla’s minimum standards include encrypting all personal information on a car. The researchers said most car brands ignored their emailed questions on the matter, those that did offering partial, unsatisfactory responses.

Japan-based Nissan astounded researchers with the level of honesty and detailed breakdowns of data collection its privacy notice provides, a stark contrast with Big Tech companies such as Facebook or Google. “Sensitive personal information” collected includes driver’s license numbers, immigration status, race, sexual orientation and health diagnoses.

Further, Nissan says it can share “inferences” drawn from the data to create profiles “reflecting the consumer’s preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes.”

It was among six car companies that said they could collect “genetic information” or “genetic characteristics,” the researchers found.

Nissan also said it collected information on “sexual activity.” It didn’t explain how.

The all-electric Tesla brand scored high on Mozilla’s “creepiness” index. If an owner opts out of data collection, Tesla’s privacy notice says the company may not be able to notify drivers “in real time” of issues that could result in “reduced functionality, serious damage, or inoperability.”

Neither Nissan nor Tesla immediately responded to questions about their practices.

Mozilla’s Caltrider credited laws like the 27-nation European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and California’s Consumer Privacy Act for compelling carmakers to provide existing data collection information.

It’s a start, she said, by raising awareness among consumers just as occurred in the 2010s when a consumer backlash prompted TV makers to offer more alternatives to surveillance-heavy connected displays.

 

We want to hear from you.

Have a story idea or tip? Send it to the KSL NewsRadio team here.

Business & Economy

FILE - U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talk prior to ...

Mariah Maynes

How will Trump tariffs impact consumers? It depends, but here are estimates

Economists agree that Trump tariffs could have consequences for the economy and American wallets.

2 days ago

The Food Justice Coalition cleared its calendar on Monday to support the nationwide protest of Pres...

Shelby Lofton, KSL TV

Salt Lake businesses, organizations feel impact of ‘Day Without Immigrants’ closures

Businesses cleared their calendars to support the nationwide protest of President Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants in the country.

2 days ago

This image shows a chicken coop and garden at the home of Sarah Penny in Knoxville, Tenn., in May 2...

Associated Press

Soaring egg prices are piquing interest in backyard chickens

Thinking about backyard chickens as egg prices soar? Think hard, especially in light of the bird flu outbreak.

3 days ago

FILE – U.S. agriculture could be impacted heavily during a trade war, as it did in 2018-19. (KSL ...

MIKE ANDERSON

Economist: Effects of 2018-19 trade war still linger, shows what to expect from another trade war with China

Though many of us might have forgotten about it, the impacts of a trade war with China in 2018 and 2019 still linger in Utah.

3 days ago

A cashier counts cash at Thread at City Creek Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. Ut...

Adam Small

New tariffs will impact Utah businesses and consumers, local trade experts say

For example, if a Utah business manufactures a good in a country with a 25% tariff, it'll pay 25% more to bring that product back to the U.S.

4 days ago

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters next to Air Force One after arriving back at Joint Base ...

Josh Boak and Christopher Sherman, Associated Press

Trump agrees to pause tariffs on Mexico, but import taxes still in place for Canada and China

President Trump temporarily pauses tariffs for one month after talking with Mexico's president.

4 days ago

Sponsored Articles

Full speed through the snow. A man on skis is pulled by his through the snow at full gallop Skijori...

Bear Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau

Get ready for an unforgettable skijoring adventure in Bear Lake!

“Skijoring the Bear” takes place this year on February 21-22 in Garden City, Utah.

the bedroom in a geodesic dome shows the night sky...

Clear Sky Resorts Bryce Canyon

Your front row to an extraordinary cosmos show

As America's first glass dome stargazing resort, Clear Sky Resorts Bryce Canyon is one of the world’s most unique and spectacular places to stay.

2 people huddled up in a blanket and warm clothes sipping hot chocolate...

Bear Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau

The best ways to spend your Christmas vacation in Bear Lake

If you're dreaming of a white Christmas this year, Bear Lake should definitely be on your radar. Read this guide for more!

big crowd of people under holiday lights in an outdoor market...

Western Nut

Our favorite family Christmas activities in Utah

We gathered up a list of our favorite activities, movies, and treats to try this holiday season that the whole family can enjoy.

an IT tech looks at a laptop in front of a server network...

Comcast Business

Tips to protect yourself from phishing attacks

Check out this resource from Comcast Business to learn more about phishing attacks and how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of one.

A surprise gift, wrapped and ready to bring holiday cheer! Whether for Christmas, a birthday, or an...

Western Nut

10 Holiday Gift Ideas to cover everyone on your list

This guide is for you if you need holiday gift ideas that will make a lasting impression. 

Carmakers fail privacy test, give owners little or no control on personal data they collect