There are again calls to strengthen Australia’s privacy laws. This time it is car companies in the spotlight since they have been found to be spying on drivers. A report by consumer advocacy group choice has revealed some of the world's most popular brands are collecting; sharing; and even selling information, including driving patterns and sensitive personal data with third parties, including insurance companies.
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00:00Tesla driver Jermaine Muller is no stranger to the realities of owning a modern car.
00:08It's just common practice now that your data is going to be collected.
00:13Which prompted the 29-year-old to take action.
00:16I've just 3D printed a little slider to block out the actual camera that faces the cabin.
00:23But it's not just the camera watching.
00:25A Consumer Report looking at the privacy policies of Australia's top ten car brands
00:30found seven are collecting and sharing driver information with third parties.
00:35For the average consumer who doesn't necessarily read through an entire privacy policy, there's
00:42a lot in there that raises concern.
00:44Toyota collects vehicle locations and information about a driver's behaviour, like how much
00:49they accelerate, brake or corner, and can share it with insurance companies.
00:54Kia and Hyundai collect voice recognition data and sell it to AI training company Credence,
01:00while Tesla goes further, capturing video and images from a camera inside the vehicle.
01:06The Insurance Council of Australia says it's not aware any of its members are using driver
01:10behaviour data to assess risk or set premiums.
01:15The peak body for car manufacturers, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, says its
01:20members collect consumer data in line with the law and use it to improve safety and navigation
01:25features.
01:26Drivers can opt out from having their data collected through the settings menu in their
01:31car or through the vehicle's app, but some experts say that's not enough.
01:36What we're looking for is comprehensive reform of the Privacy Act.
01:39We've got to ask ourselves strategically about critical technologies, including vehicles,
01:44about not just where they're manufactured, but actually where they're controlled from.
01:48As cars get smarter, privacy becomes the price of progress.