Automakers pen 'privacy principles' for in-car technology

Two automaker groups, with representation from major manufacturers, like Ford Motor Company, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota, have penned a benchmark privacy document for protecting data collected through in-car technologies.  

The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers published the “Consumer Privacy Protection Principles,” (PDF) Wednesday and presented the framework to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

In a letter to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, the groups' CEOs Mitch Bainwol and John Bozzella said that the principles coincide with the associations' existing commitments to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In July, the groups agreed to establish an information sharing and analysis center (ISAC) for the auto industry, where information on “cyber-related threats and vulnerabilities in motor vehicle electronics or associated in-vehicle networks” could be communicated, the letter said.

The new framework, which offers “baseline privacy commitments” for automakers, entails seven principles: transparency among automakers regarding collected or shared information, presenting consumers choice as it pertains to data collected about them, and having “respect for context” – or considering the impact collected information could have on drivers.