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General Motors, Honda, and Hyundai are accused of inappropriately selling customer data
US Senators are asking the FTC [senate.gov] to look into the data-selling practices of several automobile manufacturers.
From the article in Fortune Magazine [fortune.com] (archive link [archive.ph]):
Two U.S. senators are calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate automakers selling customers’ driving data to brokers who package it and then sell it to insurance companies.
In a letter to FTC Chairwoman Linda[sic] Khan [senate.gov], Democrats Ron Wyden of Oregon, and Edward Markey of Massachusetts allege that General Motors [fortune.com], Hyundai [fortune.com], Honda [fortune.com] and perhaps others are sharing drivers’ data, such as sudden braking and acceleration.
The automakers, the senators said in a statement Friday, used deceptive tactics to manipulate customers into signing up for disclosure of the data to brokers.
After reading a report in The New York Times, Wyden’s office looked into the three automakers and found that they shared data with broker Verisk Analytics [fortune.com]. In the letter to Khan, the senators wrote that all three automakers confirmed disclosure of the data. GM also confirmed that it disclosed customer location data to two other companies that the automaker would not name, the letter said.
[...]
“If the FTC determines that these companies violated the law, we urge you to hold the companies and their senior executives accountable,” the senators wrote to Khan.GM wouldn’t say how many cars’ data was sent to brokers or what it was paid, according to the letter. Wyden’s office found that Hyundai shared data from 1.7 million vehicles and was paid just over $1 million, while Honda got just under $26,000 for data from 97,000 vehicles, the senators said.
What say you, Soylentils? Do you own a car or cars from any of the above manufacturers? If so, were you aware of the data sales? Will this (perhaps depending on the outcome of an FTC probe, if that actually happens) affect your auto purchase decisions?
