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Transportation Privacy

California Will Probe Data-Collecting, Internet-Connected Cars (msn.com) 25

The Washington Post reports: California's newly empowered privacy regulators announced their first case Monday, a probe of the data practices of newer-generation cars that are often or always connected to the internet. The California Privacy Protection Agency said its enforcement division would review manufacturer's treatment of data collected from vehicles, including locations, smartphone connections and images from cameras.

The agency was established by a 2020 ballot initiative that toughened the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018. As of July 1, it can conduct operations to enforce Californians' right to learn what is being collected about them, the right to stop that information from being spread and the right to have it deleted...

When combined with web surfing habits and other internet data collated by brokers, movement tracking can paint a full portrait that includes a person's home, workplace, shopping habits, religious attendance and medical treatments. Insurance companies also want data on how quickly drivers brake ahead of problems on the road, along with other performance indicators, and they are willing to pay to get it.

The Post notes that data is beamed to business partners of automakers under "vague privacy policies."
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California Will Probe Data-Collecting, Internet-Connected Cars

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  • by Baron_Yam ( 643147 ) on Sunday August 06, 2023 @11:08AM (#63744246)

    Because the answer should be 'none'.

  • Lol (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Watch the dogma in action as conservatives try and make it sound like woke California is doing a bad thing here.

  • Hey, those non-California car companies are collecting data that is rightfully Google's! Or Facebook's! Or Salesforce's! Or Oracle's! Maybe it's time they partner up like they should...

  • by Voyager529 ( 1363959 ) <voyager529NO@SPAMyahoo.com> on Sunday August 06, 2023 @12:38PM (#63744420)

    "Network connectivity in all new cars must be performed by user-removable interfaces, and no functionality (except that which inherently depends on network connectivity) may be impeded by its removal, and its removal may not be grounds for voiding the warranty, and its absence may not be grounds for altering cost of insurance. Manufacturers shall be fined $50,000 per vehicle sold found outside of compliance, and dealerships shall be fined $5,000 per vehicle sold found outside of compliance."

    ...Of course, California is the last state I'd believe would actually pass this legislation. "Yes, you have a right to know what data your car is collecting on you" is very, very different from "Yes, you have a right to ensure your car can't collect data on you". One of them enables awareness, the other enumerates a right which can be exercised at the expense of tech companies.

    *Try* buying a 2023 vehicle that doesn't have internet connectivity built-in. The only way privacy can be enforced is if the vehicle can't phone home.

    • by HiThere ( 15173 )

      You've definitely got several good points...but they all should apply to cell phones as well as to cars.

      • You've definitely got several good points...but they all should apply to cell phones as well as to cars.

        Well, I think the better legislation for phones would be a mandate that bootloaders be unlocked, for free, at any point it is owned, within 48 hours of request, with a failure to do so requiring a double refund of the initial purchase price.

        A phone is inherently a communications device, and while one *might* argue that there are corner cases for phones with their communications chipsets removed, it loses about 98% of its utility in such a situation. A vehicle without internet connectivity would still be abl

    • ...Of course, California is the last state I'd believe would actually pass this legislation. "Yes, you have a right to know what data your car is collecting on you" is very, very different from "Yes, you have a right to ensure your car can't collect data on you". One of them enables awareness, the other enumerates a right which can be exercised at the expense of tech companies.

      *Try* buying a 2023 vehicle that doesn't have internet connectivity built-in. The only way privacy can be enforced is if the vehicle can't phone home.

      Why would you think that? California is very progressive especially in areas of personal privacy. https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/ccp... [ca.gov]

      • Why would you think that? California is very progressive especially in areas of personal privacy.

        Because, per the link you provided, we've got this chestnut under FAQ #7:

        You cannot sue businesses for most CCPA violations......Using consumer complaints and other information, the Attorney General may identify patterns of misconduct that may lead to investigations and actions on behalf of the collective legal interests of the people of California.

        Essentially, the CCPA says "if you ask nicely for a company to delete the data they have on you, and you can prove they didn't honor your request, and you can get a bunch of buddies together who *also* asked nicely for their data to be deleted and they too can prove the company didn't honor their requests, then you can ask the Attorney General to open an investigation and if that investigation shows that this company isn't acting in th

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Isn't California looking at introducing some GDPR-like rules?

      Under GDPR they would have to obtain opt-in permission, and given it's a car they would have to do it every time it is turned on because it could be a different driver. As such many car interfaces in Europe require you to tap a button on screen when you turn the car on, and if you decline then some features are disabled.

  • by 0xG ( 712423 ) on Sunday August 06, 2023 @01:00PM (#63744478)

The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth. -- Niels Bohr

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