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from the all-your-data-are-belong-to-us dept.
The Verge is reporting that the next data minefield is your car. GM has been capturing lots of user data from the cars they have sold and is apparently planning to sell that (stolen|coerced) data to advertisers targeting, for now, radio advertising. Newer cars generate upwards of 600GB of user data per day. This is causing business leaders to drool because some expect the value of this data to reach more than $1.5 trillion by the year 2030, if the data (capture|theft) remains uncontested. GM is the first auto maker so far to try this. The first batch took data from around 90,000 vehicles. However, there was not much detail given about how permission was gained for this data capture and whether agreement was coerced or through ignorance.
GM captured minuted details such as station selection, volume level, and ZIP codes of vehicle owners, and then used the car's built-in Wi-Fi signal to upload the data to its servers. The goal was to determine the relationship between what drivers listen to and what they buy and then turn around and sell the data to advertisers and radio operators. And it got really specific: GM tracked a driver listening to country music who stopped at a Tim Horton's restaurant. (No data on that donut order, though.)
Also at The Detroit Free Press : GM tracked radio listening habits for 3 months: Here's why.
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Saturday October 20 2018, @05:56AM (2 children)
But if you are handy with tools, I'll be happy to lend you mine. I've got some extra as I inherited some from my father, and from his father.
That way we can both buy thousand-dollar beaters that don't come with wireless spy gadgets.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 20 2018, @08:24AM
Thanks a lot, but I'm saving my money to buy a house when the market crashes again.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Nuke on Saturday October 20 2018, @09:39AM
I've never bought a new car in my life, despite the fact I could now afford even most top-of-the range ones cash down. Because the price of cars drops like a brick once they are used a bit, especially up-market ones (they can end up cheaper than originally down-market ones), and if you look around you with a bit of knowledge and patience you can find low-mileage and cared-for ones that are as good as new at a quarter of the price. I'd rather spend the money on other things. Customer impatience and enthusiasm are the friend of car dealers.