bobsr
Member
These days we read a lot about data collection, from cameras and face recognition to new areas like data being transmitted from your vehicle, now being recorded and sold.
Not acceptable for some of us, and I wanted to share an article I received in a Newsletter about this problem happening in our super electronically sophisticated vehicles these days.
This newsletter is from Casey Research, and this article is from their "Casey Research Dispatch" newsletter from June 9, 2019. I will post some of it here for members to see and understand perhaps something few of us think about:
How Google Will Cash in on Your Commute
By Jeff Brown, editor, Exponential Tech Investor
Your car is spying on you…
It knows your daily driving habits. It knows if you like to speed. It knows what temperature you like the car to be. It knows what music you like when you’re happy – and what music you like when you’re sad.
It knows how often you talk on your phone… and if you’re generally pleasant or often angry. It knows where you live and work… and how much money you make. It even knows how much you weigh… and whether you’ve been recently gaining or losing weight.
Simply put, your car has access to behavioral data Google wants.
Most consumers aren’t even aware of it, but all modern cars have telematics systems that connect back to the manufacturer over wireless networks. That allows the car to transmit the data it collects from its systems, sensors, and speakers back to the car company.
This might sound shocking – and it should. While many are lashing out at Google and Facebook for their business practices of collecting user data and selling it… guess what? Car companies are looking to do the same thing.
Some might argue that Google’s and Facebook’s services are “free,” so they’re fine to make money through advertising revenues. The nuance, of course, is how they do it, how they inform consumers, and whether they’re able to keep the data safe. History has proven that neither has been a good actor.
Yet in the case of a car, it’s the consumer who paid for the product. And consumers pay a lot of money for an average car. We would think that we’d have the privacy and security of owning something that we paid for… But think again.
Your car company got your permission to collect, use, and sell your data. That’s right… They told you up front they’d do this – and you agreed.
If you have a newer model, the legal agreement was in the paperwork you signed when buying the car. It was in the fine print that nobody reads. It says the car company can do whatever it wants with the data it collects on you.
Of course, they say it’s to improve safety and performance. But really, they’re selling it to make money.
___________________________________________________________________
There is more to the article, but you get the idea.
The fact that supposedly the original owner agreed in writing that they agreed to the ability of the vehicle electronics data to be collected, used, and possibly sold is alarming. As a minimum, we should have the opportunity to "opt out" of this collection. Or at least for some of the personal stuff. Buying a used vehicle probably means you neither signed anything nor were even told about all this even happening.
So I guess what I would like to know is what each owner can opt out from now. First, by making any settings on existing vehicle electronics which will serve to "opt out" of data being sent, (thus not collectable), and what steps the receivers of this data can offer you to "opt out" of. It's going to get even more complicated with each model year as more electronics and recording and AI and perhaps even "listening" could be added to things in your vehicle - with or without your knowledge or permission.
Frankly, it's none of their GD business where I go, what elecronics I use (or choose not to use), probably how fast I drive, other habits and probably many other things. Are they selling this information to insurance companies? Employers? Others who could create algorithms to analyize certain collected data and keep records? Can get really crazy and be HARMFUL to individuals using these systems. Also goes well beyond vehicles, but this is a good place to start.
Perhaps some of the "tech savy" members could offer us some advice on how to protect ourselves from our own data.
Not acceptable for some of us, and I wanted to share an article I received in a Newsletter about this problem happening in our super electronically sophisticated vehicles these days.
This newsletter is from Casey Research, and this article is from their "Casey Research Dispatch" newsletter from June 9, 2019. I will post some of it here for members to see and understand perhaps something few of us think about:
How Google Will Cash in on Your Commute
By Jeff Brown, editor, Exponential Tech Investor
Your car is spying on you…
It knows your daily driving habits. It knows if you like to speed. It knows what temperature you like the car to be. It knows what music you like when you’re happy – and what music you like when you’re sad.
It knows how often you talk on your phone… and if you’re generally pleasant or often angry. It knows where you live and work… and how much money you make. It even knows how much you weigh… and whether you’ve been recently gaining or losing weight.
Simply put, your car has access to behavioral data Google wants.
Most consumers aren’t even aware of it, but all modern cars have telematics systems that connect back to the manufacturer over wireless networks. That allows the car to transmit the data it collects from its systems, sensors, and speakers back to the car company.
This might sound shocking – and it should. While many are lashing out at Google and Facebook for their business practices of collecting user data and selling it… guess what? Car companies are looking to do the same thing.
Some might argue that Google’s and Facebook’s services are “free,” so they’re fine to make money through advertising revenues. The nuance, of course, is how they do it, how they inform consumers, and whether they’re able to keep the data safe. History has proven that neither has been a good actor.
Yet in the case of a car, it’s the consumer who paid for the product. And consumers pay a lot of money for an average car. We would think that we’d have the privacy and security of owning something that we paid for… But think again.
Your car company got your permission to collect, use, and sell your data. That’s right… They told you up front they’d do this – and you agreed.
If you have a newer model, the legal agreement was in the paperwork you signed when buying the car. It was in the fine print that nobody reads. It says the car company can do whatever it wants with the data it collects on you.
Of course, they say it’s to improve safety and performance. But really, they’re selling it to make money.
___________________________________________________________________
There is more to the article, but you get the idea.
The fact that supposedly the original owner agreed in writing that they agreed to the ability of the vehicle electronics data to be collected, used, and possibly sold is alarming. As a minimum, we should have the opportunity to "opt out" of this collection. Or at least for some of the personal stuff. Buying a used vehicle probably means you neither signed anything nor were even told about all this even happening.
So I guess what I would like to know is what each owner can opt out from now. First, by making any settings on existing vehicle electronics which will serve to "opt out" of data being sent, (thus not collectable), and what steps the receivers of this data can offer you to "opt out" of. It's going to get even more complicated with each model year as more electronics and recording and AI and perhaps even "listening" could be added to things in your vehicle - with or without your knowledge or permission.
Frankly, it's none of their GD business where I go, what elecronics I use (or choose not to use), probably how fast I drive, other habits and probably many other things. Are they selling this information to insurance companies? Employers? Others who could create algorithms to analyize certain collected data and keep records? Can get really crazy and be HARMFUL to individuals using these systems. Also goes well beyond vehicles, but this is a good place to start.
Perhaps some of the "tech savy" members could offer us some advice on how to protect ourselves from our own data.
