It's a story we've been following since mid-March, when a New York Times article brought to light the disturbing news that automakers are selling your data and driving habits, in essence spying on you. You can catch up on those articles below if you did not see them at the time:
Now new info is coming to light about how much, or should we say how little, your data was being sold for, thanks to an investigation by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Oregon.
Our very own Jerry Reynolds, host of the Car Pro Show, reacts to the latest news:
"Little did we know, however, your info was being sold for pennies. I was angry about this practice from the start, but now to know some automakers sold you out for the cost of a package of gum (if you find a sale) is infuriating." - Car Pro Show host Jerry Reynolds.
Luckily, Wyden along with another U.S. Senator are calling on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to crack down on automakers who are disclosing driver data with the drivers' consent.
A press release from Senator Wyden's office reads:
Two U.S. Senators are urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to crack down on automaker disclosure of driver data without the driver's consent. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., recently sent a letter to the FTC, asking federal officials to investigate and hold responsible automakers and their data broker partners, for disclosing data on millions of Americans, without consent. The letter follows an investigation by Wyden that his office says revealed new facts regarding automakers’ disclosure of driving data, such as sudden braking and acceleration, to data brokers for subsequent resale to insurance companies. In a press release, Wyden's office says General Motors (GM) also confirmed to his office that it shared customers’ location data with two other companies, which GM refused to identify.
The senators’ letter to the FTC included new details about GM, Honda, and Hyundai’s sharing of drivers’ data with data brokers, including details about the payments the data broker Verisk made to automakers. Based on information Wyden obtained from automakers, the senators revealed:
“The problematic practices we have uncovered and documented in this letter are likely just the tip of the iceberg,” Wyden and Markey wrote in the letter to Chair Khan. “We focused our oversight efforts on automakers’ relationship with one specific data broker in order to determine if there is a problem that warrants further oversight by federal regulators. Verisk has publicly confirmed it sold driver data from three automakers, but the media has reported that other data brokers, like LexisNexis, are still selling driver data.”
In January, the FTC took action against two data brokers that sold location data collected from smartphone apps without consumers’ informed consent. The senators urged the FTC to apply this precedent and to hold the automakers responsible for their disclosure of driver data to the data broker Verisk, and to hold Verisk responsible for its subsequent sale of driver data to insurance companies.
“The FTC should hold accountable the automakers, which shared their customers’ data with data brokers without obtaining informed consent, as well as the data brokers, which resold data that had not been obtained in a lawful manner. Given the high number of consumers impacted, and the outrageous manipulation of consumers using dark patterns, the FTC should also hold senior company officials responsible for their flagrant abuse of their customers’ privacy” the senators added.
The privacy practices of automakers have been under increased public scrutiny this year. The New York Times published an investigative series into automakers’ sharing of driver data with data brokers. In April, Wyden and Markey released the results of an investigation into automakers’ disclosure of location data with law enforcement agencies.
The senators today also published an updated chart summarizing the results of that April investigation, to reflect new information received from Volvo Cars, indicating that the company now requires a warrant for customer location data.
The text of the letter is here.
Photo Credit: Honda Press Release (2020).