Figure 1. Source: Freepik1
1
https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/happy-male-biker-courier-drives-yellow-scooter-wears-protective-helmet-
casual-t-shirt-poses-his-own-transport-looks-joyfully-aside-transports-something-isolated-purple-wall-blankspace_11932572.htm , visited 01/30/2021
Connected Cars, Our Personal Information & Then Our Privacy A small look to our most common habits: Our cars Collecting information during our trips Well, let’s say we already know that with the Internet of Things (IoT), even our cars know more about the places we usually go (thanks to Google Maps, Waze and/or Maps from Apple), so let’s put this into context: Scenario #1: Our government can access to our car’s geolocation and, weather thermometer controller and to our mileage information to determine and check if we are under the limits of a Covid-19 lockdown prevention area or just being compliant with an enforced quarantine. Scenario #2: The car dealer can access to our mileage information with a direct connection to our car and check if we’re respecting the lease agreement. Also, can access to our Carplay 2or Android Auto3 to check if we’re driving our car through some rough roads that can diminish the general warranty. And it’s not funny. Scenario #3. Through our phone, and directly from our car, a music service that we pay monthly for it, will access to all our conversations every minute, because this service wants to “recommend” us a better dedicated music based on that information collected and analyzed for
2
https://www.apple.com/ios/carplay/ , visited 01/30/2021
3
https://www.android.com/auto/ , visited 01/30/2021
us, while tripping with our cars. If you think this is unreal or taken from a movie, well…there’s a patent already approved about this technology4.
What does this really mean for us and for them. This is no joke. Meaning that, our car, our cabin inside our car, is one of the most, the latest space where we can feel safe and do whatever we want, enjoying the truly “right to be alone5” that Brandeis once invoked against third parties with full reason. Wanted or not, leaving under the GDPR, under California limits or not, Privacy is a fundamental right. That means that it preexists to every constitution, declaration, fundamental law or rule that collects it or not. It’s with the right to be alive, a main liberty that cannot be minimized by a law or rule. Said that, we can understand the advantages of new features from the most known car factories, but it is really dangerous and goes against our own liberties and privacy principles, to allow that our privacy or intimacy can be collected by our cars, to be used for unclear purposes. It’s really dangerous, especially if we are talking about what we talk or where we go (talking about geolocation). I’ve mentioned this point already, on another document called “Obscurity By Design - Let's Get Obscure6”. There’s a reference about which personal information we can decide to share, and that sensible data that we mustn’t show to others. In that second list, geolocation is included.
The End User License Agreement / General Agreement From now on, I’m inviting all of you to read all the terms and conditions being shown by your car dealer when you’re buying or acquiring a car. There’s a huge possibility that a clause about you giving your consent to share your personal information and them collecting it for multiple
4
https://loudwire.com/spotify-patent-listen-daily-speech-recommend-music/ , visited 01/30/2021.
5
https://www.brandeis.edu/now/2013/july/privacy.html , visited 01/30/2021
6
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1059779, visited 01/30/2021
purposes will be written on stone. And, as it is part of the contract, not accepting it means not accepting to buy or lease the new car.
But it is a Fundamental Right But the right to be alone, the right to have your intimacy and the right to privacy is a fundamental liberty. So, despite signing the car dealer’s contract, you should deactivate or claim your rights to protect your “breathing privacy moment” inside your car from being collected at any circumstances. There’s and excellent white paper published by the IAPP from Booz, Allen and Hamilton, about “Driving Away With Your Data – Privacy and Connected Vehicles”7. This document stands that “Connected vehicle stakeholders can and should improve upon current practices to allow for more nuanced and meaningful consumer choice”. Accessing our privacy life while we are inside our vehicles, it is really dangerous.
7
https://iapp.org/media/pdf/resource_center/Privacy_and_Connected_Vehicles.pdf , visited 01/30/2021
Andres Saravia