Race, intelligence, and sexual activity — how do automakers monetize your privacy?
The Mozilla Foundation, the creator of the Firefox browser, conducted a study of the privacy policies of 25 automakers and concluded that cars can pose a serious threat to the privacy of both drivers and passengers.
According to the study, automakers can collect and use for commercial purposes much more data than just their travel history, driving habits, and music preferences. This includes personal information such as sexual activity, immigration status, race, facial expressions, weight, health, and genetic information.
This information is collected using sensors, cameras, microphones, and other devices that connect to the vehicle. The data can then be sold to third-party companies.
The researchers note that Nissan's privacy policy stands out as one of the most "surprising". The company is open about the possibility of collecting extremely personal information, including data on the driver's sexual activity and orientation, as well as the ability to draw conclusions about preferences and mental abilities based on them.
Other automakers, such as General Motors, Kia and Ford, also mention in their policies the possibility of collecting data on race, sexual orientation and other confidential aspects.
Hyundai informs about the possibility of transferring personal information to law enforcement agencies based on both official and informal requests.
According to Mozilla experts, this suggests that automakers can collect even more personal data than reproductive health apps.
The companies surveyed mostly ignored requests for comment on the study. Mercedes-Benz and Honda gave common responses, referring to their public documents.
Ford directly declined to participate in the discussion of the results. This indicates a lack of transparency and willingness to engage in a dialogue on privacy issues.
Another problem is the lack of real consent of users to the collection of their personal data. Privacy policies often consider such consent to be granted automatically when using the car's services.
In addition, it is not possible to refuse to collect data without significant losses in the functionality of the car. For example, Tesla warns that disabling data collection can lead to "damage and failure of the machine."
Summing up, we can say that automakers show an extremely low level of concern for the privacy of drivers and passengers. This is a serious concern for human rights defenders and clearly requires regulatory intervention to protect citizens rights.
The Mozilla Foundation, the creator of the Firefox browser, conducted a study of the privacy policies of 25 automakers and concluded that cars can pose a serious threat to the privacy of both drivers and passengers.
According to the study, automakers can collect and use for commercial purposes much more data than just their travel history, driving habits, and music preferences. This includes personal information such as sexual activity, immigration status, race, facial expressions, weight, health, and genetic information.
This information is collected using sensors, cameras, microphones, and other devices that connect to the vehicle. The data can then be sold to third-party companies.
The researchers note that Nissan's privacy policy stands out as one of the most "surprising". The company is open about the possibility of collecting extremely personal information, including data on the driver's sexual activity and orientation, as well as the ability to draw conclusions about preferences and mental abilities based on them.
Other automakers, such as General Motors, Kia and Ford, also mention in their policies the possibility of collecting data on race, sexual orientation and other confidential aspects.
Hyundai informs about the possibility of transferring personal information to law enforcement agencies based on both official and informal requests.
According to Mozilla experts, this suggests that automakers can collect even more personal data than reproductive health apps.
The companies surveyed mostly ignored requests for comment on the study. Mercedes-Benz and Honda gave common responses, referring to their public documents.
Ford directly declined to participate in the discussion of the results. This indicates a lack of transparency and willingness to engage in a dialogue on privacy issues.
Another problem is the lack of real consent of users to the collection of their personal data. Privacy policies often consider such consent to be granted automatically when using the car's services.
In addition, it is not possible to refuse to collect data without significant losses in the functionality of the car. For example, Tesla warns that disabling data collection can lead to "damage and failure of the machine."
Summing up, we can say that automakers show an extremely low level of concern for the privacy of drivers and passengers. This is a serious concern for human rights defenders and clearly requires regulatory intervention to protect citizens rights.
