Ford pledges no driver data sales as GM settles data sale lawsuit

Ford is taking a dig at its longtime rival, General Motors (GM), following legal trouble over selling customers’ driving data.

The auto manufacturer announced a new initiative on Monday called the Ford Privacy Promise, essentially promising not to sell information about how you drive your vehicle to data brokers or insurance companies.

The announcement comes days after GM agreed to pay US$220 million (about C$307.7 million) to settle allegations brought by a coalition of 36 attorneys that say the auto manufacturer illegally sold its drivers’ personal information to third parties.

According to the Washington State Attorney General, the company sold its driving behaviour and location data to data brokers, which then sold the information to insurance companies. It is alleged that GM enrolled millions of drivers in its Smart Driver program between 2016 and 2024, which tracked drivers’ habits and was marketed as a tool to help them improve their driving safety—while also telling drivers their information would not be shared with insurers without their consent (yikes).

The New York Times noted in an investigation that the information sold included how often people drove, how often they braked or accelerated quickly, and whether they exceeded speed limits; in some cases, it was used to determine customers’ rates.

Of course, auto companies selling data gathered by vehicles is nothing new. A few years ago, Mozilla’s *Privacy Not Included buyer’s guide noted that 25 cars collected data about drivers, including race, facial expressions, weight, health information, and where people drive. The company even found that some cars collected data on sexual activity, and even immigration status. At the time, the two biggest offenders were Nissan and Tesla.

Now, although it was conveniently timed to align with its competitor’s suit, a Ford executive told Gizmodo that it isn’t directly linked, saying instead that Ford wants to build trust with customers.

The automaker also launched a new site that explains what data its vehicles actually collect, how it’s used, and how you can adjust your privacy settings. That has been available for a while, but Ford says it wants to make it easier for Ford owners to understand and use.

Source: Ford, Washington State Attorney General Via: Gizmodo