US Nonprofit Investigates 25 Global Automakers
"BMW, Ford, Toyota, and Others Collect Sensitive Information"
It has been revealed that global automobile companies are importing intimate personal information such as vehicle owners' political views and sex lives.
Nissan Can Collect Sexual Activity Information... Tesla Fails All Evaluation Criteria
According to the British daily The Guardian on the 6th (local time), a survey conducted by the US non-profit organization Mozilla Foundation on 25 global automobile companies including BMW, Ford, Toyota, Tesla, and Kia found that all companies collect more personal information than necessary and use the collected information unrelated to vehicle operation.
The Mozilla Foundation stated that all 25 brands fall under the "Privacy Not Included" category and criticized, "The vehicles of these brands officially belong to the worst category among the products we have evaluated for privacy protection levels."
The information collected by automobile companies was extensive, including driving information such as speed and destination, as well as intimate personal information such as music listened to inside the car, medical and genetic information, and sexual activity information.
In particular, Nissan included "sexual activity" in the information it collects, and Kia also specified in its privacy policy that it can collect "sex life" information.
Additionally, Kia's privacy policy reportedly states that it can process "special categories of information," including sexual orientation, race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, political opinions, and union membership, in addition to sex life.
Earlier this year, electric vehicle company Tesla was criticized for failing to properly protect personal information, such as employees sharing video footage of customer vehicles, and in this survey, it failed to meet all evaluation criteria including security, data control, and artificial intelligence (AI).
84% of the surveyed companies stated that they could share personal information collected from vehicle owners with service providers or data brokers. Furthermore, 76% were allowed to sell the collected personal information.
As Vehicle Convenience Improves, Collectible Information Increases... "Greater Confusion Expected with Autonomous Driving Transition"
In recent years, as the automobile industry accelerates the transition to electric vehicles and expands wireless network services, concerns have been raised that the amount of personal information automobile companies can collect is increasing.
Connected services that combine wireless networks with automobile software enhance vehicle usage convenience, and driver information collected through services like Google Maps can generate more information about the driver's interests.
There are also voices expressing concern that as vehicles become more connected to the internet and autonomous driving becomes possible, greater confusion will arise.
The Mozilla Foundation stated, "It was not possible to confirm whether the surveyed companies meet minimum security standards such as personal information encryption."
Furthermore, the Mozilla Foundation strongly criticized, "For years, automobile manufacturers have boasted that cars are 'computers on wheels' to promote advanced features, but discussions about how driving a car affects drivers' privacy have not been properly conducted. While we worry about whether internet-connected doorbells and watches are spying on us, car brands have quietly transformed cars into powerful data collection machines and entered the data business."
Meanwhile, among the surveyed companies, only two?Renault and Dacia, under the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Alliance?stated that drivers have the right to delete personal information. These two companies are headquartered in Europe. The European Union (EU) applies the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the world's strictest personal data protection law.
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