With more automakers incorporating technologies that collect and transmit data from cars, the association recently released guidelines to help protect drivers’ privacy.

Not only is AAA concerned about drivers’ safety on the roads, it wants to protect their privacy as well. Data privacy, that is.

The automobile association released a set of “Consumer Rights for Car Data” last week and is encouraging car companies to adopt the guidelines, too.

“Many connected-car features are made possible through the collection of large amounts of potentially sensitive data from drivers,” AAA President and CEO Bob Darbelnet said in a statement.  “Companies collecting, using, and sharing data from cars should do everything possible to protect consumer rights as they offer these exciting technologies.”

One in five new cars sold this year will collect and transmit data from crash-response, navigation, in-vehicle entertainment, and other electronic systems, AAA said, and while connected features can make driving safer and easier, it can also put consumers at risk.

The rights address issues of transparency, choice, and security:

• Transparency. Consumers have a right to clearly understand what information is being collected from their vehicle and how it is being used. Businesses and the government should be transparent about the collection and use of vehicle data.
• Choice. Consumers have a right to decide with whom to share their data and for what purpose. This includes ongoing monitoring of vehicle systems, repair, and any data of the vehicle owner’s choice.  Customers should not be forced to relinquish control as a condition of purchasing or leasing a vehicle or of receiving a connected-vehicle service.
•  Security. Consumers have a right to expect that connected-vehicle manufacturers and service providers will use reasonable measures to protect vehicle data systems and services against unauthorized access and misuse.

AAA addressed the issue of driver privacy earlier this month in a letter sent to the Federal Trade Commission in response to the commission’s “Internet of Things” workshop, which explored privacy and security issues consumers face given growing device connectivity.

In the letter, the association outlined several of the ways connected technology can promote safer driving, including providing location data to emergency personnel, but made the case that consumers should be informed of what data is being collected.

“The features and services that vehicle connectivity enables will radically transform the driving experience,” the letter stated. “However, because these features and services will depend in large part on the collection and use of data from and about consumers’ vehicles, they must be designed and operated with privacy and security at the forefront so that consumers are in control.”

(iStock/Thinkstock)