These major car companies are accused of harvesting and exploiting customer data
www.abc.net.au
As experts push to strengthen Australia's privacy laws, many car makers are gathering data and potentially selling it to third parties.

Rafi Alam from CHOICE told The World Today: “When we looked at Toyota’s privacy policy, we found that these Connected Services features will collect data such as fuel levels, odometer readings, vehicle location and driving data, as well as personal information like phone numbers and email addresses.”

The program’s policy document says Toyota collects data for various purposes if drivers don’t opt out — including for safety, security, research, product development and data analysis — but the company may also share it with third parties such as finance and insurance companies, debt collection agencies and market research organisations.

In 2023, the Mozilla Foundation reviewed the privacy standards of 25 major car brands, including Toyota. All 25 received failing marks for consumer privacy.

The report found brands such as BMW, Ford, Toyota, Tesla, Kia, and Subaru could “collect deeply personal data such as sexual activity, immigration status, race, facial expressions, weight, health and genetic information, and where you drive”, which they could potentially sell to third parties.

Nissan was accused of being “the very worst offender”, while Toyota was found to have “a near-incomprehensible galaxy of 12 privacy policy documents”.

Can you trust them with everything about what you do in the car, what you say in the car, who’s in the car, where it goes, your connections to every other online data service?

  • Cossty@lemmy.worldEnglish
    111·
    10 months ago

    I cant wait for the day when I can install Debian on my car. Until then I am not buying new car.

    • laughterlaughter@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      9 months ago

      No, man, that’s not even the answer. Why give those fuckers money? That’s like buying a home with cameras that can’t be removed because they’re built into the walls or the columns, and what they capture goes directly to “HousingCorp Inc.” Then you have to go through the trouble of cutting the cables or placing tapes or covers on their lenses. Half way through that task, you should be asking yourself, “why the fuck am I doing this?”

      Car makers should be in the business of selling you cars, that is, a means of transportation, and that’s it. Would you accept a pair of jeans that will track you? What about shoes? Hell, I refuse to buy those fucking toothbrushes with bluetooth!

      I can see a cheaper option that tracks you; sure. But it would be a choice, not something shoved up your nose. I swore off TVs altogether because all of them have “smart” features. Fuck smart features! Sell me a damn TV that is not trying to connect to the internet! If I want it to connect to the internet, then I’ll stick some HDMI device to it, thankyouverymuch.

      And we definitely agree in one thing: I will never buy a new car if it has that tracking bullshit, or disabled features that require a subscription bullshit.