Worrying study
Cars are a real “privacy nightmare”
By Diana Dittmer
September 8, 2023, 2:26 p.m
According to a study, car manufacturers collect significantly more data from drivers than is absolutely necessary. It’s not just information about location or speed that is registered using the technology in modern cars. The inmates’ sex lives also seem interesting.
One Study by the Mozilla Foundation on privacy policies and practices of 25 automakers highlights potential risks to driver privacy. The result of the authors is devastating: All manufacturers received the note “Privacy Not Included” (translated: “Privacy not included”). It is said that cars are a real “data protection nightmare”, the worst product “that we have ever checked for data protection”.
In recent years, the automotive industry has increasingly relied on networked technologies and data-based services. Mozilla not only realizes that it fundamentally collects too much personal data. With a share of 84 percent, most manufacturers should also pass on or sell user data to service providers, data brokers and other companies. According to the study, a little more than half of the car manufacturers even stated that they would transmit the data to governments or law enforcement agencies “on request”. A court order is not required, it is said.
According to the study, many of the infotainment systems and assistance functions in modern cars have significant weak points. Sensors, cameras, microphones, telematics systems and linked mobile phones can and are not only used to track the movements of drivers, but also to tap a wide variety of personal information. The study pays particular attention to the inadequate encryption of the transmitted data. These defects could violate the privacy of drivers, it is said.
According to the study, only two car brands – Renault and Dacia – grant drivers the right to have their personal data deleted. With the other manufacturers, vehicle owners have little to no control over their data.
Nissan cares about sex life?
Some points from the study seem understandable, others are more fictional, if not absurd. Tesla, for example, came in second to last place. Here the Mozilla authors criticized but also praised the US car pioneer for not passing on or selling the collected personal data to third parties. However, the authors note that this is a “pretty low bar” when it comes to protecting privacy.
BMW did best among the German car manufacturers. The Munich-based company ended up in third place. The company apparently “had fewer serious security violations and data leaks” than other car manufacturers, it is said. However, the authors expressed skepticism about the willingness to give customers the opportunity to delete their data. In a statement, BMW said customers have the option to “delete data, whether in their apps, vehicles or online.” The holders themselves could decide whether data should be released or suppressed. The group refers here to the Data protection from BMW.
Nissan performed the worst of the 25 car manufacturers tested. What particularly struck the Mozilla authors was that “data from the most questionable categories” could be collected. Surprisingly, this also includes information about consumers’ sex life and “psychological tendencies, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, skills and aptitudes,” according to the report. The fact is: In its data protection declaration, the manufacturer admits that it collects data on health, genetics and sexual activity.
It remains unclear why Nissan, of all things, wants to secure the information rights to the sex life of the occupants of its cars, whether this information should be taken seriously or is more of a “bureaucratic act without meaning”, as the “Spiegel” suspects. It also remains unclear how this data should be collected. In any case, it probably won’t be possible via GPS or smart devices. Nissan did not respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment. On the one hand, the assumption that it could be a – somewhat stupid – joke cannot be dismissed. On the other hand, there is also a very clear reason for the collecting mania: According to management consultancy McKinsey Around $750 billion can be recovered from the data collected in vehicles by 2030.