‘Privacy nightmare on wheels’: Driving patterns to facial expressions, cars are collecting data

Cars with internet-connected features are fast becoming all-seeing data-harvesting machines – a so-called “privacy nightmare on wheels”, according to US-based research conducted by the Mozilla Foundation.

The researchers looked at the privacy terms of 25 car brands, which were found to collect a range of customer data, from facial expressions, to sexual activity, to when, where and how people drive.

They also found terms that allowed this information to be passed on to third parties. Cars were “the official worst category of products for privacy” they had ever reviewed, they concluded.

Australia’s privacy laws aren’t up to the task of protecting the vast amount of personal information collected and shared by car companies. Since our privacy laws don’t demand the specific disclosures required by some US states, we have much less information about what car companies are doing with our data.

Australia’s privacy laws need urgent reform. We also need international cooperation on enforcing privacy regulation for car manufacturers.

How do cars collect data?

Apart from data entered directly into a car’s “infotainment” system, many cars can collect data in the background via cameras, microphones, sensors and connected phones and apps.

These data include:

• speed
• steering, brake and accelerator pedal use
• seat belt use
• infotainment settings
• phone contacts
• navigation destinations
• voice data
• your location and surroundings
• and even footage of you and your family outside your car. (Between 2019 and 2022, Tesla...

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