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Cars store driver data at least every two minutes. This is what an ADAC study revealed. What exactly are they storing? What happens to the data? And who do they belong to?
“Modern cars basically know everything about their drivers,” adds Volker Lüdemann, scientific director of the Lower Saxony Data Protection Center at Osnabrück University tagesschau24 the level of knowledge of our vehicles.
Up to 150 sensors are installed in modern cars. They measure driving behavior, seat occupancy, acceleration; They know the drivers’ taste in music, recognize driving errors and determine the location of the vehicle. With this treasure trove of data, manufacturers have a wealth of knowledge about drivers and vehicles: The car – a spy to make money?
What happens to the car data?
Some data has been used for years to read errors in the workshop. In some cases, their collection is required by law – for example, to monitor compliance with emissions standards by recording how much fuel a vehicle consumes. Since the summer of 2022, cars that are newly registered must also be equipped with accident data storage.
“Individual observations may be harmless on their own, but if the data are brought together, combined and evaluated, this can lead to serious violations of privacy,” explains Lüdemann using an example, for example when data on seat occupancy is combined with driving destinations.
“If the weight on a seat increases continuously over a period of nine months and frequent trips to a baby specialist store are made, then everyone who has access to this data knows that these drivers or the family are facing drastic changes in their life situation.”
Whoever has the data does the business
Drivers usually don’t know who has which of their data and what happens to it. “Most of it is stored on the manufacturers’ servers,” Lüdemann sheds light on the matter. “You can decide who gets the data.” So far, only car manufacturers can access and use this data. And that’s what they do.
Because whoever has access to the data does business with it. According to Lüdemann, it’s not just about the data of the vehicle occupants: the emergency call in the EU, the so-called E-Call, automatically makes an emergency call when an airbag opens. “If the vehicles are connected to the E-Call system, the emergency call does not go to the rescue number 110 or 112, but to the manufacturer or a service provider commissioned by it.” And they then decide which towing service is commissioned and which workshop receives the repair order.
Billions due to customer ignorance
Insurers are calling on these options. If the insurance company were informed immediately in the event of an accident, it could determine which tow trucks, which workshops, etc. should be used – and thus save a lot of money. And there’s more: Insurers can grant discounts for compliant driving – but also increase the premiums for drivers who are more risk-conscious. They have a corresponding interest in the driver data.
The possibilities for many applications and business areas are so great that they arouse a lot of desire: There is a struggle between car manufacturers, emergency services, software companies, workshops, hospitals and insurers. They have recognized what experts prove with numbers: money can be made from customer ignorance.
According to the consulting firm McKinsey, the networking of vehicles and the use of data from the car have great economic potential: In total, manufacturers, suppliers and service providers could earn around 400 billion dollars annually by 2030, when 95 percent of all vehicles are connected Calculate: 250 billion dollars in sales and another 150 billion dollars in savings potential.
Who actually owns the data?
Our everyday lives are becoming more and more connected – cuddly toys, toasters and refrigerators are “smart”. But who owns the data? Consumers usually assume that they have the rights to the data they generate, including when it comes to cars. “In reality, the rights to who owns what are unclear,” says Lüdemann. Data protection takes precedence over economic interests, business secrets and supplier data.
The data still belongs to the manufacturers. But a new law makes it possible for the first time for users to determine whether and to what extent third parties have access to their data – and for what purpose: with the EU Data Act, which is due to come into force in 2025. It will regulate when companies and private individuals can receive and share information from connected devices. At the same time, unlawful data transfer should be prevented. “In a certain sense, this is a regulation that makes sense,” explains Lüdemann.
But many companies are reluctant to increase data protection, says Michael Heise, chief economist at HQ Trust tagesschau24: “You can weigh up how much data protection is worth to you, which is of course very important.” However, Heise points out that there would also be economic disadvantages if the rules were made too strict. “At the moment we are a little too restrictive.”
Criticism from consumer advocates and ADAC
German car manufacturers such as BMW point to compliance with legal regulations and that customers can adjust their privacy settings themselves. But that’s not enough for the ADAC. The association demands that drivers must know which data from their car is collected, stored and evaluated, that they must be able to switch off data processing and forwarding and decide for themselves who has access to their vehicle data.
And the planned law does not go far enough for consumer advocates. They want clearer regulations at EU level. Digital expert Roland Fiege recognizes that companies also use data to improve services and products. But with tagesschau24 He also points out: “By giving up the data voluntarily and basically paying with the data, we are gradually losing sovereignty over our own data.”
Conclusion: There is currently a lack of practical solutions to have more influence on the data that your vehicle collects. And so the car is and remains not only “the Germans’ favorite child”, but also a treasure trove for data collectors.