New cars are a data protection nightmare – BMW is against it

In recent years, automakers have often boasted that their vehicles are computers on wheels to promote their advanced features. But the discussion about the impact of these “rolling computers” on privacy has only just begun.

Firefox developer Mozilla took a closer look at 25 car brands and a devastating verdict was passed. After extensive testing, all manufacturers have the warning sign “data protection not included”. This officially makes cars the worst product category for privacy ever Mozilla was checked – a “nightmare”, as the company writes.

Mozilla has identified four main reasons for the negative results. One issue is excessive data collection. All car brands examined collect more personal data than is necessary to operate the vehicle and use this information for other purposes.

This data collection occurs in a variety of ways, including the driver’s interaction with the vehicle, use of in-car services, and even external sources such as Google Maps. In addition, 84 percent of manufacturers share personal data with third parties, including service providers, data brokers and other companies.

56 percent of the brands surveyed even say they share data with government authorities upon request. Additionally, 92 percent of brands give drivers little or no control over their personal information. Only two brands allow drivers to delete their data.

None of the manufacturers could conclusively confirm that they meet Mozilla’s minimum security standards, particularly when it comes to encrypting personal data.

Nissan stands out as particularly negative because the company openly admits to collecting data on drivers’ health, genetics and even sexual activity and sharing or selling that information. Kia also collects information about the sexual behavior of its occupants. VW is primarily interested in the driving behavior of users, while Toyota imposes a total of twelve data protection declarations on drivers.

One of the German manufacturers examined for the study has now commented on the results. bmw announced in a statement that it would collect personal data but would comply with legal regulations. Customers can adjust the privacy settings at any time in the data protection menu directly in the vehicle, in the My BMW app or in their BMW profile on the Internet.

“The BMW Group expressly contradicts circulating statements in the media reporting about the Mozilla Foundation study on the processing of data on race, sexuality and health status. Such data is neither processed nor stored by the BMW Group,” BMW writes in a statement press release.