Your car’s data privacy problems are worse than you think

Andrew J. Hawkins writing for The Verge:

The results were stark: Every single one of the 21 vehicles transmitted data to at least one third-party domain over Wi-Fi. Over half contacted domains specializing in advertising, tracking, or analytics (ATA). These companies, like Adobe, LexisNexis, and Amplitude, gather details about your vehicle or driving behavior to sell to insurance companies or target you with ads.

Vehicles equipped with advanced infotainment systems — particularly those running Google’s Android Automotive OS with Google Automotive Services — contacted the highest number of third-party domains. Choffnes noted that an automaker’s choice of software platform directly impacts how much data reaches third parties. Google’s platform, for instance, includes built-in routines to communicate both with Google’s own services and external entities.

Does anyone want this? Are there consumers out there who want to be tracked and monitored like this because they want advertisements that are more “geared” to their interests?

I suspect the answer is no. In which case I would argue the correct thing to do would be to entirely outlaw this practice.