Internet-connected cars collect masses of data that can be used for different purposes – not only to optimise a car’s performance but also to be sold by the car manufacturer or a third party.

A disclosure of sensitive personal data has a negative effect on users’ intention to use digital services, and some users would like to quit digital service. Nonetheless, we found that digital service users could manage their privacy problem by compensating with usage-based insurance.

Location Data

Many companies are now using connected car sensors to collect location data about their vehicles, drivers, passengers and any other potential uses (such as traffic management services, parking enforcement or otherwise).

Data such as this can help cities better plan curb use, especially with the rise of last-mile delivery services that often involve multiple car trips from door to door. On the other hand, privacy concerns are prevalent: for example, whether a driver’s location history can be leveraged to create a lifestyle or habit profile.

Data collection is needed for a variety of good reasons, but merely because data is available does not mean we should collect it or have no control over its use. Maintaining an appropriate balance between social benefit and consumer privacy in using new technologies is a goal worth aiming for, with thoughtful consideration and legislative action needed along the way. Similarly, many of the same sorts of ideas in place for mobile phones need to be incorporated into law for connected cars – for example the data minimisation principle requiring that we collect the minimum amount of information required to complete any given task.

Speeding Records

Although today’s cars are connected to the internet to support such services as apps that can be used within the vehicle and certain remote functions, the connectivity itself can also be used to produce valuable data for companies and the police to use for tracking or even to rationally price insurance based on driving habits collected through such surveillance. According to media, some even debate using this same data to hunt drivers down.

Automakers collect consumer data, along with data aggregators, to make services such as GPS and music streaming better, make third-party apps for cars, or to create actuarial tables used by insurance companies. But the car owner might not realise how their information is being gathered or whether they have any control over how it’s used.

In a recent report, the Mozilla Foundation found that a lot of the 25 most popular car brands fail to adhere to even the most basic privacy and security principles in their privacy terms, making the data available for insurance providers to keep their costs down, and law enforcement agencies, too.

Driving Habits

The New York Times recently reported that with automakers and data brokers dangling the possibility of lower insurance premiums if drivers agree to participate in connected car programmes, automakers could be tracking driving habits with little incentive to reveal such details beyond vague privacy policies and fine print. GM’s OnStar Smart Driver service reports driving behaviour data to insurers but the deal’s details are filed in legalese.

According to Leger research polling, drivers don’t want car and personal information collected by manufacturers, with privacy concerns chief among them. There is an unconscious fear that what they do is known to others and that there is a risk to their ability to live alone (by every definition, today) where they please.

Though detractors (such as Faye Francy, a Seattle-based activist, whose name is very fitting) are already planning a lawsuit against Otonomo (an Israeli firm that is selling raw driver data to automakers), most of the survey respondents said they would feel more comfortable if they had better control and visibility over how their data was gathered.

Payment History

More and more cars are outfitted with sensors that collect data about driving behaviour and habits, with the manufacturers then selling this information to third parties – such as insurance companies – who might reward low-risk drivers with discounts on premiums, for example. While these companies have managed to offer innovative services, the early adoption of this technology has led to widespread concerns about privacy among some consumers.

In The New York Times, a Chevrolet Bolt EV owner reported that his auto insurance rose 21 per cent overnight (before plunging after he called his insurer) not long after his car’s telematics system began transmitting driving patterns to LexisNexis without his knowledge. He didn’t know that he was caught in LexisNexis’s web.

Indeed, research into this kind of abuse led regulatory bodies to recognise that strong privacy protections for connected cars were vital. Consumers would have to actually read and assent to privacy terms before signing up for any connected car service, and vendor contracts must spell out any remaining downstream uses or sharing of the personal data. Privacy professionals could help clients assess this new world and draft policies to protect consumer privacy.