Senators Want FTC To Investigate Automakers That Sell Our Data

Two US senators have accused car companies who sell our data of a “flagrant abuse” of privacy

                                        https://www.carscoops.com/author/chris-chilton-cc/                                    

A pair of US senators outraged at the sale of driver data by automakers want the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the practice.

Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Ed Markey (D-MA), have written twice to the FTC asking it to look into the sharing of data and what they say are the sneaky tactics automakers employ to get us to consent to providing them with that data.

Related: Did OnStar Spy On You? GM Faces New Lawsuit Over Driver Data, Rising Insurance Rates

The senators called out GM, Honda and Hyundai, explaining in a 16-page letter to the FTC how the automakers sold driver information about when and where owners used their cars, and how smoothly or recklessly they drove them, to a data broker. That company, Verisk, then sold on the data to insurance companies who used it to increase premiums for some drivers.

Sen. Wyden says Hyundai shared data from 1.7 million cars with Verisk, which paid $1,043,315.69, or 61 cents per car. Honda shared data from 97,000 cars for $25,920, or 26 cents per car, and GM has yet to disclose what it made from pimping out our details.

Beyond the sale of the data harvested from connected cars, the senators expressed concern about the deceptive methods, or “dark patterns,” the automakers used to get a hold of it in the first place, including telling drivers they needed to consent to data sharing if they wanted to receive safety updates and alerts.

All three automakers deny misleading vehicle users and claim that each driver had to deliberately agree to the terms of the data sharing agreement before giving their consent. This summer GM ditched its Smart Driver tech and Hyundai its Driver Score program, two features that snooped on how we accelerate and brake.

“The problematic practices we have uncovered and documented in this letter are likely just the tip of the iceberg,” Wyden and Markey wrote in their communication 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 come down hard on automakers and data brokers in this case in the way it did earlier this this year with 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.