14 DAY TRIAL // Back in January, US Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) sent a letter to Ford asking the company about its in-car data collection practices. Ford has responded to the inquiry, saying that it does not collect its customers’ information without their consent.
The senator sent Ford the letter after one of the company’s execs noted that the GPS systems installed in vehicles allowed them to “know everyone who breaks the law” and the precise moment when they’re doing it. The Ford executive later clarified that that was not done without customers’ consent, but Sen. Franken wanted to learn more.
In response to the official’s letter, Ford’s Vice President of Government Affairs Curt Magleby noted, “No location data is wirelessly transmitted from the vehicle without customer consent. Location data is used only to support customer requests for services, and to troubleshoot and improve our products.”
While the car maker doesn’t collect any data without its customers’ consent, the senator is concerned that consent is requested only through in-car prompts, mobile app and website user agreements.
As far as sharing goes, Ford says it doesn’t sell customer data to anyone, and it doesn’t share it with any other companies. There are some service providers that have access to the data, but the car maker says they’re “contractually bound to protect this information.”
“I believe Americans have a fundamental right to privacy, and that right includes the ability to control who is getting your personal information and who it's being shared with,” said Sen. Franken.
“I wrote Ford to clarify some of their data collection practices, and I'm glad that they responded. But consumers in Minnesota and across the country still deserve to get basic information about who's collecting their location and when it's being collected,” he added.
“This is sensitive information-and notices to consumers about this sensitive data shouldn't get lost in fine print. And I'll be reintroducing my location privacy bill to require that consumers give clear consent before their information is collected or shared.”