Your car could be spying on you
AEVA urges government to table tougher privacy laws as connected cars track AustraliansThe News
The Australian Electric Vehicle Association (AEVA) is urging the Federal Government to strengthen privacy protections for connected vehicles, warning Australia's current framework has failed to keep pace with increasingly data-hungry cars.
Car companies often transmit Australians' voice recordings, cabin camera footage and detailed trip histories offshore or into the cloud; AEVA says this data shouldn’t leave the car.
The Key Details
- AEVA has presented the Federal Government with connected car privacy policy recommendations
- Around 95 per cent of new carss sold here will be internet-connected by 2035
- Sensitive vehicle data should be processed inside the vehicle rather than in the cloud
- Optional data collection would be switched off by default under the proposal
- Manufacturers would also be required to meet binding international cybersecurity standards
The Finer Details
Australians are being warned their connected cars pose a serious privacy risk, but so far, no-one in power has offered a real fix.
Now the Australian Electric Vehicle Association (AEVA) says it's stepping up where government has stalled.
The consumer advocacy group has handed the Federal Government a detailed set of policy recommendations aimed at overhauling what it calls a weak, outdated system for protecting driver data. You can read the policy paper here.
The numbers behind the push are significant. By 2035, an estimated 95 per cent of new vehicles sold in Australia will be internet-connected. Nearly 70 car brands sold locally trace back to just 12 overseas jurisdictions, raising fresh questions about where Australians' voice recordings, cabin camera footage and detailed trip histories actually end up.
We previously reported on major car brands like Toyota, Kia and Tesla collecting and sharing personal data from drivers, which is often through connected car services, which requires owners to pair their smartphone with a car.
At present, connected car owners are protected by little more than the decades-old Privacy Act 1988 and a voluntary code from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), rules AEVA argues simply have not kept pace with what a modern vehicle can see, hear and transmit.
AEVA National President James Pickering says the current approach is failing drivers.
“Consumers nationwide continue to be let down by insufficient data privacy legislation,” he said, adding that policymakers have the power to protect drivers “instead of instigating fear and distrust.”
The Association's blueprint borrows from two of the world's toughest data regimes – Europe's GDPR and China's automobile data laws – and centres on three key proposals:
- Processing sensitive data such as voice recordings and facial scans inside the vehicle rather than in the cloud
- Switching all optional data collection off by default
- Requiring manufacturers to meet binding international cybersecurity standards
The Road Ahead
The proposal reframes the connected vehicle privacy debate away from headlines and towards Canberra's policy agenda, but turning the recommendations into law raises broader questions for government and industry.
Would mandating in-vehicle processing and stricter offshore data rules increase the cost of new vehicles at a time when affordability remains a barrier to EV uptake?
Could tighter local data-storage requirements slow the rollout of new models into Australia or discourage some manufacturers from entering the market?
With car-makers increasingly relying on cloud connectivity for everything from over-the-air software updates to insurance telematics, policymakers will also need to consider how privacy protections can be balanced against the connected features buyers increasingly expect.
AEVA maintains the proposals would deliver better outcomes for consumers but government and the automotive industry will have their own views.
More to come.
Related: Nissan confirms local customer data accessed in cyberattack
Related: Toyota Australia rocked by cyber attack
Related: Can you hack into a Mercedes-Benz?
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