{"id":73959,"date":"2014-12-04T20:24:32","date_gmt":"2014-12-05T01:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rbachnet.wwwmi3-ss40.a2hosted.com\/index.php\/"},"modified":"2021-07-30T08:00:46","modified_gmt":"2021-07-30T12:00:46","slug":"privacy-for-drivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/privacy-for-drivers\/","title":{"rendered":"Privacy for Drivers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Privacy<\/a>Ford Motor Company<\/a> (F<\/a>) Global Marketing Director Jim Farley touched off a privacy storm<\/strong> when he told an audience at the Consumer Electronics Show<\/a> that the automaker is tracking<\/strong> their travels thanks to their in-car navigation systems. He told the crowd in Las Vegas that the automaker tracks driver behavior<\/a>, \u201cWe know everyone who breaks the law, we know when you\u2019re doing it.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\"automaker<\/a>The auto manufacturers have installed “black boxes<\/b>” on most modern cars. The black boxes are capable of tracking, gathering, and storing vehicle information<\/strong>. In fact, the Fed has proposed that such tracking technology become standard equipment on all cars.<\/p>\n

Privacy firestorm<\/h3>\n

Even though Ford quickly backed down<\/a> from Mr. Farley’s claims, the comments created a privacy firestorm. As a result, Th<\/em><\/a>eDetroitBureau.com<\/em><\/a> reports<\/a> that privacy advocates accelerated increased pressure on manufacturers to reveal what info that collects on “black box’s” they\u2019re doing with the personal data they do collect \u2013 and put limits on how it can be used.<\/p>\n

\"black-boxes<\/a><\/p>\n

In response, a group of 19 automakers has gotten together to lay down some ground rules, which they hope will assuage fears about the accessibility and use of the material. According to the article, the makers say the information won\u2019t be given to government<\/strong> officials or law enforcement agencies without a court order, sold<\/strong> to insurance companies or other companies without their permission.<\/p>\n

The automakers agreeing to the \u201crules,\u201d which they submitted to the Federal Trade Commission<\/a>, include Aston Martin<\/a>, BMW<\/a>, Chrysler<\/a> (STLA<\/a>),\u00a0 Ferrari<\/a>, Ford, General Motors<\/a> (GM<\/a>), Honda<\/a> (HMC<\/a>) Hyundai<\/a>, Kia<\/a>, Maserati<\/a>, Mazda<\/a>, Mercedes-Benz<\/a>, Mitsubishi<\/a>, Nissan<\/a>, Porsche<\/a>, Subaru<\/a>, Toyota<\/a>, Volkswagen<\/a>, and Volvo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Self-imposed data collection \u201crules\u201d<\/h3>\n

\"FutureThe author speculates that the automakers are willing to abide by the self-imposed \u201crules\u201d<\/strong> because they believe actual laws could become onerous. Sen. Edward Markey, D-MA is skeptical of the impact of the “rules.” He called them \u201can important first step,\u201d but said it remains unclear \u201chow auto companies will make their data collection practices<\/strong> transparent beyond including the information in vehicle manuals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senator Markey noted that the automakers did not offer consumers an opt-out option for whether sensitive information is collected in the first place. He plans to legislate an answer. He said in a statement, \u201cI will call for clear rules \u2014 not voluntary commitments \u2014 to ensure the privacy and safety of American drivers is protected,\u201d Markey said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The automakers also committed to \u201cimplement reasonable measures\u201d to protect personal information from unauthorized access<\/strong>. Privacy experts are concerned that in recent years many vehicles have had a variety of GPS and mobile communications technology built into them.<\/p>\n

\"Cloud<\/a>The TheDetroitBureau <\/em>explains these devices record and sends all types of information which privacy advocates are afraid the data could be used by the government<\/strong> against the owners of vehicles. Some worry that many three-letter agencies and law enforcement will use data from the device to track citizens. Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center<\/a> said that legislation is needed to ensure automakers don\u2019t back off their self-imposed “rules” when they become inconvenient. He said,<\/p>\n

You just don\u2019t want your car spying on you. That\u2019s the practical consequence of a lot of the new technologies that are being built into cars.<\/em><\/p>\n

Pop-up ads on in-car touch screens<\/h3>\n

The black boxes now installed in new vehicles could also be a safety issue<\/strong> for drivers. The article speculates that the rising level of interactivity of cars could open the door for pop-up ads<\/strong> in cars. These automakers’ “rules” do not end the possibility that Pop-up ads could appear on the touch screens<\/strong> of cars, trucks, and SUVs as folks are motoring down the road.<\/p>\n

One loophole<\/strong> in the guidelines identified in the blog, if customers agree at the time they buy the car, they could receive messages from advertisers who want to target motorists based on their location and other personal data according to the author. Some safety advocates are concerned about\u00a0pop-up ads<\/strong> possibly popping up on in-car touch screens while drivers are behind the wheel. Henry Jasny of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety warned the Associated Press.<\/p>\n

There is going to be a huge amount of metadata that companies would like to mine to send advertisements to you in your vehicle … We don\u2019t want pop-up ads to become a distraction.<\/em><\/p>\n

rb-<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Who<\/a>The road to hell is paved with good intentions and full of pot-holes. I covered Cisco’s try at monetizing driver data here<\/a>. Industry officials say they want to assure their customers that the information that their cars stream from the vehicle’s computers to automakers (or Feds) via OnStar. Sync<\/a>, Automatic<\/a>, In-Drive<\/a>, or Car-Net<\/a> won’t be handed over to authorities without a court order, sold to insurance companies, or used to bombard them with ads for pizza, gas stations, or other businesses they drive past, without their permission.<\/em><\/p>\n

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