If your car connects to the internet, what personal data could it be sharing – and even selling? A new report on Australia’s 15 most popular car brands reveals these privacy concerns.

New research reveals serious privacy flaws in the data practices of new internet connected cars in Australia. It’s yet another reason why we need urgent reform of privacy laws.

Modern cars are increasingly equipped with internet-enabled features. Your “connected car” might automatically detect an accident and call emergency services, or send a notification if a child is left in the back seat.

But connected cars are also sophisticated surveillance devices. The data they collect can create a highly revealing picture of each driver. If this data is misused, it can result in privacy and security threats.

A report published today analysed the privacy terms from 15 of the most popular new car brands that sell connected cars in Australia.

This analysis uncovered concerning practices. There are enormous obstacles for consumers who want to find and understand the privacy terms. Some brands also make inaccurate claims that certain information is not “personal information”, implying the Privacy Act doesn’t apply to that data.

Some companies are also repurposing personal information for “marketing” or “research”, and sharing data with third parties.

  • latenightnoir@lemmy.worldEnglish
    41·
    29 days ago

    Or maybe this is the perfect opportunity to stick it to The Man and jack off even more, exclusively in your car! Maybe get into some really freaky stuff, give’em a proper show!

        • sugar_in_your_teaEnglish
          3·
          28 days ago

          Towels work. Put them on anything that’s hard to clean up, and it’ll soak it all up. Oh, and leave the windows down so there are fewer issues with smells sticking around.

          • sugar_in_your_teaEnglish
            2·
            28 days ago

            I feel like towels would be much more practical. Just cover the stuff that’s hard to clean and you won’t need to worry about runoff.

            • latenightnoir@lemmy.worldEnglish
              0·
              28 days ago

              Heeey, that works! Maybe a mix of both, I’m still worried about contact stains in the case of a… hefty expulsion:-?

              • sugar_in_your_teaEnglish
                2·
                28 days ago

                On the towels? Just use older towels, NBD.

                Or do you mean from liquids bleeding through? I guess you could use them as a barrier, or just add more towels.

                  • sugar_in_your_teaEnglish
                    2·
                    28 days ago

                    A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have.

                    …

                    Hence a phrase that has passed into hitchhiking slang, as in “Hey, you sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There’s a frood who really knows where his towel is.” (Sass: know, be aware of, meet, have sex with; hoopy: really together guy; frood: really amazingly together guy.)

                    • Douglas Adams in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

                    Join us on Towel Day, May 25th.