A class action lawsuit has been initiated in Texas against Toyota North America, asserting that the company illicitly shared drivers’ data with a third party, specifically the data specialist CAS. The lawsuit was brought forth by Philip Siefke, a Florida resident who bought a new Toyota RAV4 in 2021.
During his application for vehicle insurance with Progressive, Siefke was informed that the insurance company had access to telemetry data from his vehicle sourced from CAS, an affiliate of Toyota Insurance Management Solutions (TIMS). The data exchange involved information about vehicle locations, speed, braking patterns, swerving telemetry, and aspects of driving behavior, such as cornering dynamics.
Siefke claims that he was not made aware of any data-sharing agreement at the time of his vehicle purchase and did not provide explicit consent for such sharing. As a result, the lawsuit states that the affected individuals suffered “actual injury,” which includes a reduction in the value of their driving data and violations of privacy rights.
Recent incidents in Europe echo similar concerns. Last year, a significant data breach occurred when Cariad, a subsidiary of VW, left a database containing telemetry data from newer vehicle models publicly accessible.
This breach allowed data privacy advocates to access sensitive driver information, including locations and lifestyle details, posing serious risks to driver privacy. In-car telemetry data typically gets transmitted to manufacturers or their affiliates, who often share this data among themselves.
While owners can access their driving data through apps, manufacturers also use this information for monetization opportunities without necessarily obtaining consent from vehicle owners. The complexities of paperwork during the car purchasing process can often lead to missed references to data sharing in the terms and conditions.
As vehicles become increasingly equipped with telemetry systems, the potential for generating revenue from driver data without consent raises pressing ethical questions regarding privacy and data usage.