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canopic jug writes:

New cars collect and report hundreds of gigabytes of data per day. Most people remain unaware of that and thus privacy debates have largely ignored the question of what data is collected by what we drive, and who has or hasn't access to it. In the case of independent repair shops, it is also important to ask who is denied access. Surveys have shown that nearly 90 percent say that the vehicles owners shoud control who sees the vehicle's data. Yet that is not the case.

Cars produced today are essentially smartphones with wheels. For drivers, this has meant many new features: automatic braking, turn-by-turn directions, infotainment. But for all the things we're getting out of our connected vehicles, carmakers are getting much, much more: They're constantly collecting data from our vehicles.

Today's cars are equipped with telematics, in the form of an always-on wireless transmitter that constantly sends vehicle performance and maintenance data to the manufacturer. Modern cars collect as much as 25 gigabytes of data per hour, the consulting firm McKinsey estimates, and it's about much more than performance and maintenance.

Cars not only know how much we weigh but also track how much weight we gain. They know how fast we drive, where we live, how many children we have — even financial information. Connect a phone to a car, and it knows who we call and who we text.

But who owns and, ultimately, controls that data? And what are carmakers doing with it?

Most SN coverage about cars has been either about self-driving cars or taxi service apps. Right-to-repair discussions are more relevant though, even if cars are not brought into those discussions yet. The right-to-repair discussions have focused on consumer electronics and some farm equipment so far.

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