Since the invention of the Internet, privacy has been one of the key aspects. User data was able to flow from one place to another, and it didn’t take long for companies to figure out how to profit financially from it. In the mobile phone industry, this is one of the big differences between Apple and Google. While the first advocated the confidentiality of its users, by obtaining money from hardware, the second bet on offering free products in exchange for advertising, based on user data to be more precise.
As more devices become smart and connected, privacy has become more important in other industries. In recent years, we have seen scandals related to smart vacuum cleaners, security cameras, and more. Now it’s the cars’ turnwhich in addition to making a transition to electric are doing so towards connected vehicles.
Privacy in this sector has been a topic for years, but recently it is being talked about again as more and more users buy electric cars, cars that, almost without exception, are usually connected. But don’t be confused, New fuel vehicles also have connection functions which require processing of personal data as powerful as that of a smartphone or a computer.
And this will imply that, Just like you want to erase the data on a laptop or smartphone before selling it, you should do the same with the data on a car. have before you get rid of it. This is not something that is proposed for the future, but rather something that experts recommend doing now.
A new type of car
A few weeks ago, the Mozilla Foundation published a report analyzing the collection of personal data by 25 automobile brands as well as their management. Although not a deciding factor in purchasing for most users, Managing this data is increasingly a source of revenue for businesseswho can sell it to other companies, such as insurance companies.
Assembly line at one of Tesla’s factories. EE
At EL ESPAÑOL – El Androide Libre we were able to chat with Édouard Blasipworker collaborator of law and political science studies at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), and co-creator of Tech and Law. We talked about connected cars, how car brands will need to start handling personal data more securely, and how this change won’t be reversed.
Connected cars have only existed for a very short time, and users have not yet gotten used to it. “Often, the user considers that the car is a vehicle that takes them from point A to point B, but it already does more things,” explains the professor. In the same way that “the telephone is no longer just for calling, it’s almost the residual value. The car does more things than take us from one place to another.”
“Progress is positive, but it must go hand in hand with privacy and ethics”
Cars are increasingly connected to other devices, like phones, but this involves large-scale data processing. Automakers haven’t had to deal with this problem in their century-plus history, and only now are they starting to see the benefits it can bring them. Data can be used to improve the functions of your carsbut they can also be transferred or sold to third parties.
Brands must adapt
As is the case in all sectors where personal data is used, in the automotive sector Express permission is required from buyers to collect this data.. As Eduard puts it, “Carmakers haven’t yet focused on issues like privacy, but it wasn’t that long ago that companies like Google or Meta didn’t have these issues to worry about either. the mind and adapted them little by little.
“Ultimately, it will only be a matter of time before these automakers comply with what the standard says.” There The question is whether this will be due to buyer demand or government demand.. The professor indicates that “social sensitivity is very important, but developments are taking place in several areas. The authorities are monitoring and we cannot exclude that in the short or medium term the automobile sector will be within the AEPD or other supervisory authorities.
However, We must not leave the ball solely in the court of users or governments. “Companies must have a data control delegate, because there is large-scale data processing. This delegate is the one who must set the guidelines and establish a roadmap on the development and circulation of information of these smart cars”.
The connected car is the future
Cars will be increasingly equipped with technology, whatever their propulsion system, and It’s not something you’re going to back down from., because no one plans to stop using smartphones and go back to 20th century cell phones. Eduard Basi indicates that “going back would be a mistake. As technological progress will be more and more present, efforts must be made so that this progress is positive and brings value to the driver”.
Connected or intelligent cars are capable of offering highly appreciated features, such as being able to drive themselves, alerting if the driver is sleepy and even accidents can be avoided with ADA systems. The confidentiality of the data used for this type of service must be guaranteed by default, as indicated by legal provisions.
Furthermore, Eduard highlights the difference between being able to offer certain functions only in exchange for data transfer. This is possible as long as these functions are not basic for the use of the device. In other words, users should not be required to provide their data to drive, but a brand could require it for additional, security, entertainment or other functions.
“I hope that the user of the future will consider these kinds of things when purchasing a vehicle, as is the case today. When a person buys a specific type of cell phone, can “Maybe she does it because she values privacy, she makes it worth it.” The comparison with what we see in the telephone sector can be, for the teacher, “a mirror in which automobile brands can be looked at in the future. In an evolutionary manner, confidentiality measures will be implemented and the buyer may take it into consideration.” .
The key is consent
Like any technology, it can be used for positive or negative purposes. Car brands, as the Mozilla Foundation report states, They collected a large amount of personal data, some of which is not necessary for driving. Indeed, brands can benefit economically from obtaining this data. The report says 84% share or sell collected data with other companies. This can range from selling data to insurers to transferring information to other subsidiaries of the same parent group.
But the problem is not so much data collection as their control by users“The user should be the one who has the power to have and control their data at all times,” says Blasi, “and if ultimately the company decides, something happens.” The user must be the one who authorizes the transfer of their data to have access or not to a functionality.
In the same form, The user is the one who must consent to the transfer or sale of this data., in an anonymized or personalized manner. Sometimes companies want large amounts of data, with some information about users, such as gender, age or location, but they don’t need to be able to identify users one by one. But in other cases it can be an advantage, for example when it comes to receiving a better insurance offer because the insurer knows our driving history.
Format before selling
When you want to sell a cell phone or a computer, everyone has understood that you have to remove personal data from these devices before disposing of them. Even before destroying them. This is something you would think would happen at cars, but for the teacher it is something that should already be done.
“I think we should start doing it now,” says Eduard Blasi. For the popularizer, getting rid of a product without ensuring that there is no personal data is a mistake, and connected cars are no exception. And this is a problem today, since the aforementioned report indicated that 92% of the companies studied gave drivers little or no control over their personal data.
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