Who Owns the Data Your Car's Computer Collects?

Most cars of recent vintage include data collecting computers. The items of curiosity might include, among other items, whether a driver's seat belt was used, the vehicle's rate of speed, or application of brakes. The owners of the vehicles do not have access to this data. It is the private preserve of automobile manufacturers.

According to an AP story appearing in siliconvalley.com, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration "proposed long-delayed regulations requiring auto manufacturers to include event data recorders -- better known as "black boxes" -- in all new cars and light trucks beginning Sept. 1, 2014." Not only that, the NHTSA has proposed adding 30 new data points for collection.

Ironically, Detroit and its automotive peers in Japan, Germany, and South Korea have inserted the devices in their products for years.

As the AP article noted, "There's no opt-out. It's extremely difficult for car owners to disable the recorders." Privacy advocates on the left and the right (yes, liberals, there are many conservatives who care quite deeply about privacy issues) are concerned about this no-choice approach. The question of data ownership emerges here: after all, a purchased car belongs to its owner. Presumably, the data generated by the car should belong to the person or entity on the auto's title.

Privacy, data ownership, and data usage remain important issues. If content yearns to be free, data begs to be owned. Don't forget: it's your data.