Eight automakers have told customers they would not turn over their data to police without a warrant or court order, but did anyway, according to two senators following a congressional investigation. The story was broken by Automotive News’ Molly Boigon last night,.
Senators Edward Markey and Ron Wyden wrote to the Federal Trade Commission to ask for an investigation at that level. The automakers did not violate the law solely by turning over personal information; but they did so after telling customers they would not. Deceptive conduct, unlike sharing private non-health-related data, is illegal.
The automakers involved were Mercedes, Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Volkswagen, Subaru, Mazda, and Kia. They told the committee that they would provide data to police when subpoenaed; a subpoena can be issued by police without any judicial approval. Nineteen automakers, including all eight listed here, signed the Consumer Privacy Protection Principles in 2014, pledging to only provide information to police after a warrant or court order.
General Motors is already being sued for sharing data with LexisNexis Risk Solutions, but has put in a number of measures to prevent other such lapses in the future.
The senators did praise Stellantis, General Motors, Ford, Tesla, and Honda for requiring a warrant for location data except in emergencies or with customer consent. Image by Gemini. Original story.
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