Skip to main content

Car data is personal data, says report

Early results from a new study commissioned by FIA Region I indicates that most car data can be linked to a user and therefore should be treated as personal data.
June 7, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

Early results from a new study commissioned by 8054 FIA Region I indicates that most car data can be linked to a user and therefore should be treated as personal data. The study examined how existing and upcoming EU legislation on data protection and liability could apply to vehicle data. It clearly dismisses the attempts to categorise data according to its technical or non-technical nature, as currently proposed by vehicle manufacturers. Data does not automatically lose relevance in terms of privacy because of its technical nature. For instance, technical information regarding a low oil gauge of a specific vehicle is linked to an identifiable customer, it directly relates to this person.

The General Data Protection Regulation, expected to come into force from May 2018, introduces the concept of data portability, intended to allow users to transfer their personal data to a third party upon request. This provision was drafted to ensure competition. However, data protection legislation alone may not be sufficient to ensure competition as there remain concerns over the latency and quality of the data to be provided.

"This study shows, without ambiguity, that most of the data generated by car users should be treated as personal data. It dismisses claims that exclusive access could be granted to vehicle manufacturers based on the nature of the data or liability obligations. While data protection legislation will provide some rights to users, it cannot replace sound technical and competition legislation to guarantee free choice and innovation." said Laurianne Krid, director general of FIA Region I.

The study also explores whether liability obligations grant a right to access data to manufacturers. Neither the product liability directive nor the produce safety directive obliges manufacturers to permanently monitor data once the vehicles are on the road. If such processing of data was needed, it must be based on consumer consent. Data should also be equally shared with component manufacturers.

The full study will be published in the coming weeks.

Related Content

  • February 26, 2021
    Creating foundations for European MaaS model
    Public transport is backbone of Mobility as a Service in Europe, says Piia Karjalainen
  • September 4, 2018
    Avoiding a tangle
    The ITS industry will get into a ‘terrific mess’ if it doesn’t sort out the question of interoperability, says Georg Kapsch. He talks to Alan Dron about data, connectivity – and why governments should stay out of technology issues Governments should set a regulatory framework to help shape the direction of road technologies - but then stand aside and allow industry to create the necessary technologies, according to a European pioneer in the field. Georg Kapsch, CEO of Kapsch Group and Kapsch TrafficCom,
  • February 2, 2012
    US IntelliDrive cooperative infrastructure programme
    The 'rebranding' of the US's Vehicle-Infrastructure Integration programme as IntelliDrive marks an effort to make the whole undertaking more accessible both in terms of nomenclature and technology. Shelley Row, director of the ITS Joint Program Office within USDOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration, talks about the changes
  • January 25, 2012
    Evolving technology - debating the future of the ITS industry
    Harry Voccola talks to ITS International about where he sees the intelligent transportation industry heading