You car is spying on you
The Washington Post took apart a Chevy to see what GM is learning about you, when you drive. As they say, it could have been a Ford, Toyota, or BMW, just as easily; and the results were more than a little frightening.
Most new cars come with built-in cellular data connections, including all GM, Ford, and BMW cars, and nearly all Toyotas and Volkswagens. As the article points out, there are no federal laws staying what the automakers can do with the data, and they generally don’t put any limits on themselves.
Geoffrey A. Fowler, a technology columnist, consulted engineer Jim Mason to dismantle a Chevy Volt and look at just one of its computers, the telematics system; they also bought a used one from eBay. With the used computer, they could track the owner’s movements, and see their most frequently called people (and when they called them), complete with photos. They found out where that person bought gas and ate, and found their phone identifiers. Mason mentioned that Ford cars record the location every few minutes even when the navigation system is supposedly off.
Mason and Fowler don’t know how much of this is reported to GM, because they didn’t hack into the encrypted connection, though this has been done by others in the past. GM refused to tell the pair what data it collected, even when given formal notice under California law. A GM spokesman said most of the data they collected was related to location, performance, and driver behavior; a GM app uses braking, turning, and acceleration speeds to provide a safe-driving score.
Fowler reported that no automakers allow customers to manage their data. GM’s privacy policy allows it to sell “anonymized” information (how well it’s anonymized is an open question, along with how hard it would be to relate it to individuals.)
It’s a brave new world; drivers pass by dozens of privately owned license-plate-readers on their way to work, with the data available to anyone who wants it, as their phone tells their location to their network provider, and their car reports on how fast they’re going, where they’re going, and where they’re shopping. But at least you can find a privacy policy in the owner’s manual—even if it boils down to “you don’t have any.”
Clark Westfield grew up fixing up and driving past-their-prime American cars, including various GM and Mopar V8s. He has ghostwritten auto news for the last few years, and lives in Farmingdale, New York.
