Two US senators have accused car companies that sell our data of committing a “flagrant abuse” of privacy
A pair of US senators, outraged by the sale of driver data by automakers, are calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the practice.
Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Ed Markey (D-MA) have written to the FTC twice, requesting an investigation into the sharing of data and what they describe as the deceptive tactics automakers use to obtain our consent for providing that data.
The senators specifically criticized GM, Honda, and Hyundai, detailing in a 16-page letter to the FTC how these automakers sold driver information—including when and where owners used their cars and their driving behavior—to a data broker. This company, Verisk, then sold the data to insurance companies, which used it to raise premiums for certain drivers.
Sen. Wyden reports that Hyundai shared data from 1.7 million cars with Verisk, receiving $1,043,315.69, which amounts to 61 cents per car. Honda provided data from 97,000 cars for $25,920, or 26 cents per car. GM has not yet disclosed its earnings from selling this data.
Beyond the sale of data harvested from connected cars, the senators expressed concern about the deceptive methods, or “dark patterns,” automakers used to obtain it. This included telling drivers they needed to consent to data sharing to receive safety updates and alerts.
All three automakers deny misleading vehicle users, claiming that each driver had to deliberately agree to the data-sharing terms before giving their consent. This summer, GM discontinued its Smart Driver tech, and Hyundai ended its Driver Score program, both of which monitored acceleration and braking habits.
“The problematic practices we have uncovered and documented in this letter are likely just the tip of the iceberg,” Wyden and Markey wrote to the FTC. “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.”
The senators want the FTC to take decisive action against automakers and data brokers, similar to its recent actions against two brokers who sold data from smartphone apps.
“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,” they proclaimed.
