Category Archives: Privacy

Ford Picks Google over Apple for Connected Vehicle Offerings

Posted on 1 February 2021 by Ken Zino

This raises yet again privacy concerns and who owns and can sell your personal information.  The Pew Research Center notes that a digitally networked society runs on, well, quid pro quos. In this non-impeachable case, people exchange details about themselves and their activities for services and products on the web or apps. Continue reading →

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One-Millionth Subscriber Joins Subaru Connected Services

Posted on 5 January 2021 by Ken Zino

Subscription-based services are part of Subaru’s In-Vehicle Technology program that with variations is increasingly offered by other automakers in hopes of generating revenue. The  Subaru system claims to provide multimedia content, smartphone connectivity, navigation, extra safety, and everyday convenience. Looming as these systems increase are privacy and security concerns as well as the re-selling of customer data, which critics argue the customer owns.
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Telematics – New Ford and Lincoln Vehicles Enable Insurance Company Monitoring of Your Driving Behaviors

Posted on 23 December 2020 by Ken Zino

This is part of a sweeping change in the pricing of auto insurance. It also raises yet again  larger privacy issues for the owners of connected vehicles along with intelligent phones and appliances. A vast amount of owner information is now available to companies – from Google and social media apps or computers running on Microsoft Dos or Apple computers and iPhones – for resale or for their own cash flows, sometimes without owner’s consent or any usage fees given back to the creators of the data. In Ford’s case, customers have a choice. Continue reading →

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Toyota and Amazon Web Services Working on Connected Cars, Ridesharing, Driving Behavior-Based Insurance…

Posted on 18 August 2020 by Ken Zino

It’s the latest example of  an emerging trend among automakers to offer owners and lessees thus far unclear advantages of processing and analyzing data from vehicle use from Toyota’s growing worldwide fleet of connected vehicles. Nowhere in the announcement was an acknowledgement that the use of such customer data raises vast unaddressed privacy, security and law enforcement concerns. Continue reading →

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Drivers Say No to Tracking Devices in New Cars

Posted on 4 September 2019 by Ken Zino

Mercedes Benz recently made headlines in the UK after revealing they had fitted similar devices in their cars without warning drivers in advance. The news comes after EU proposals that could see all new cars made in Europe from 2022 fitted with location-tracking devices that would monitor a driver’s speed, driving behavior, as well as use of vehicle safety features. What’s worse in critic’s views, drivers would not be able to switch off these devices and the data collected could potentially be shared across countries. Continue reading →

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Facebook Users Unaware the Social Media Site Categorizes Their Interests and Political Leanings for Sales Use

Posted on 16 January 2019 by Ken Zino

The survey finds that a vast majority of Facebook users (88%) have their traits and interests categorized by the platform. Yet three-quarters of Facebook users (74%) report they did not know this list of categories existed on Facebook before being directed to the page during the survey. Moreover, once shown how the platform classifies their behaviors and personas, roughly half of Facebook users (51%) say they are not comfortable that the company created such a list. Continue reading →

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