FLORIDA – Florida ranks as the third most expensive state for car insurance, and you’ll see plenty of newer vehicles on the road.
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Many of these cars come equipped with advanced driver monitoring systems, autonomous braking systems and even data recorders.
By 2030, it’s expected that over 95% of passenger cars will have internet connectivity as a standard feature. However, this convenience comes with a significant downside.
Security experts warn that these connected cars can monitor your every move, leaving a possibility for car manufacturers to sell your personal driving data to insurance companies.
Kevin Johnson, CEO of Secure Ideas, said there needs to be a law against this.
“This is absolutely the type of thing that federally, we should have some type of consumer privacy law, and we don’t,” Johnson said.
Johnson pointed out that most consumers are unaware of how their data is being used or even that it’s being collected at all. Not only can your driving data affect your insurance rates, but it can also be sold to advertisers.
“If they know that every single day I drive by a Dunkin’ Donuts, I’m going to start seeing ads for a French cruller or something,” Johnson said. “Advertising-wise, it’s a massive piece of information.”
How to Protect Your Data
So, how can you find out what information your vehicle is sharing, and what can you do about it?
One way to discover your car’s capabilities is by entering your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) into the Vehicle Privacy Report website at vehicleprivacyreport.com.
News4JAX entered the VIN for a 2022 Tesla Model Y and found that the privacy report labeled the car as “a smartphone on wheels.” The report revealed that Tesla shares the operator’s personal data with insurance companies, affiliates, service providers, and even the federal government. However, it’s still unclear if the driver data was being shared with data brokers.
The website also offers a service to help you opt out of data sharing, at no cost to you.
Johnson advised drivers to find out what information is being shared from their vehicles and opt out of data gathering, if possible — whether the vehicle is brand new or not.
“Many of these systems allow you to reset whether you’re sharing the data. If your car has an interface where you can navigate through, go look to see if you can turn off data sharing. If it doesn’t, check the owner’s manual,” Johnson said.