Cars produced today are essentially smartphones with wheels. For drivers, this has meant many new features: automatic braking, turn-by-turn directions, infotainment. But for all the things we’re getting out of our connected vehicles, carmakers are getting much, much more: They’re constantly collecting data from our vehicles.
Today’s cars are equipped with telematics, in the form of an always-on wireless transmitter that constantly sends vehicle performance and maintenance data to the manufacturer. Modern cars collect as much as 25 gigabytes of data per hour, the consulting firm McKinsey estimates, and it’s about much more than performance and maintenance.
Cars not only know how much we weigh but also track how much weight we gain. They know how fast we drive, where we live, how many children we have — even financial information. Connect a phone to a car, and it knows who we call and who we text.
But who owns and, ultimately, controls that data? And what are carmakers doing with it?
The issue of ownership is murky. Drivers usually sign away their rights to data in a small-print clause buried in the ownership or lease agreement. It’s not unlike buying a smartphone. The difference is that most consumers have no idea vehicles collect data. (...)
Debates around privacy often focus on companies like Facebook. But today’s connected cars — and tomorrow’s autonomous vehicles — show how the commercial opportunities in collecting personal data are limitless. Your location data will allow companies to advertise to you based on where you live, work or frequently travel. Data gathered from voice-command technology could also be useful to advertisers.
The data on your driving habits — how fast you drive, how hard you brake, whether you always use your seatbelt — could be valuable to insurance companies. You may or may not choose to share your data with these services. But while you can turn off location data on your cellphone, there’s no opt-out feature for your car.
Carmakers use data to alert us when something needs repair or when our cars need to be taken in for service. What they don’t tell us is that by controlling our data, they can limit where we get that repair or service done. For almost a century, car and truck owners have been able to take their vehicles to whichever shop they choose and trust for maintenance and repair. That may be changing.
Because of the increasing complexity of cars and the Internet of Things, data is critical to repair and service. When carmakers control the data, they can choose which service centers receive our information. They’re more likely to share our data exclusively with their branded dealerships than with independent repair shops, which could have the edge in price and convenience. However, independent repair shops currently make 70 percent of outside warranty repairs throughout the country.
This is a different facet of the privacy conversation. Our anxiety about data typically focuses on what happens when information is shared with those we don’t want to see it. But what about when information is withheld from those we do want to see it?
Imagine visiting a medical specialist and learning he can’t get access to the medical history that your doctor maintains, or having a financial adviser acknowledge that neither of you can see your accounts unless you pay a fee. It’s alarmingly easy to imagine carmakers’ charging fees to independent repair shops that need access to vehicle data to service a vehicle purchased for tens of thousands of dollars. That fee will lead to vehicle owners’ paying higher repair prices just so that technicians can obtain the data.
There are more than 180,000 independent repair shops across the country; most have all the tools needed to work on today’s connected and complex cars, and most of today’s highly trained service technicians can perform anything from basic tuneups to sophisticated electronic diagnostics. But without access to car data, they’re working blindfolded, unable to see the diagnostic information they need.
Today’s cars are equipped with telematics, in the form of an always-on wireless transmitter that constantly sends vehicle performance and maintenance data to the manufacturer. Modern cars collect as much as 25 gigabytes of data per hour, the consulting firm McKinsey estimates, and it’s about much more than performance and maintenance.
Cars not only know how much we weigh but also track how much weight we gain. They know how fast we drive, where we live, how many children we have — even financial information. Connect a phone to a car, and it knows who we call and who we text.But who owns and, ultimately, controls that data? And what are carmakers doing with it?
The issue of ownership is murky. Drivers usually sign away their rights to data in a small-print clause buried in the ownership or lease agreement. It’s not unlike buying a smartphone. The difference is that most consumers have no idea vehicles collect data. (...)
Debates around privacy often focus on companies like Facebook. But today’s connected cars — and tomorrow’s autonomous vehicles — show how the commercial opportunities in collecting personal data are limitless. Your location data will allow companies to advertise to you based on where you live, work or frequently travel. Data gathered from voice-command technology could also be useful to advertisers.
The data on your driving habits — how fast you drive, how hard you brake, whether you always use your seatbelt — could be valuable to insurance companies. You may or may not choose to share your data with these services. But while you can turn off location data on your cellphone, there’s no opt-out feature for your car.
Carmakers use data to alert us when something needs repair or when our cars need to be taken in for service. What they don’t tell us is that by controlling our data, they can limit where we get that repair or service done. For almost a century, car and truck owners have been able to take their vehicles to whichever shop they choose and trust for maintenance and repair. That may be changing.
Because of the increasing complexity of cars and the Internet of Things, data is critical to repair and service. When carmakers control the data, they can choose which service centers receive our information. They’re more likely to share our data exclusively with their branded dealerships than with independent repair shops, which could have the edge in price and convenience. However, independent repair shops currently make 70 percent of outside warranty repairs throughout the country.
This is a different facet of the privacy conversation. Our anxiety about data typically focuses on what happens when information is shared with those we don’t want to see it. But what about when information is withheld from those we do want to see it?
Imagine visiting a medical specialist and learning he can’t get access to the medical history that your doctor maintains, or having a financial adviser acknowledge that neither of you can see your accounts unless you pay a fee. It’s alarmingly easy to imagine carmakers’ charging fees to independent repair shops that need access to vehicle data to service a vehicle purchased for tens of thousands of dollars. That fee will lead to vehicle owners’ paying higher repair prices just so that technicians can obtain the data.
There are more than 180,000 independent repair shops across the country; most have all the tools needed to work on today’s connected and complex cars, and most of today’s highly trained service technicians can perform anything from basic tuneups to sophisticated electronic diagnostics. But without access to car data, they’re working blindfolded, unable to see the diagnostic information they need.
by Bill Hanvey, NY Times | Read more:
Image: Claire Merchlinsky
[ed. See also: Elizabeth Warren's Right-to-Repair proposal (Boing Boing), which should really be expanded to include all consumer products. And, on a slightly different topic but still relevant to much needed digital legislation: The Internet Security Apocalypse You Probably Missed (NY Times).]
