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

  • January 19, 2023
    ITS green light for two wheels
    Cycling is increasingly promoted as a healthy and sustainable mode of transport. So, ask Ronald Jorna and Robin Kleine of Mobycon, what role should ITS play in stimulating active travel?
    Read More
  • April 22, 2015
    ITS America publishes connected vehicle guidance
    Guidance on the likely impact of multipath communications on connected vehicle development has been published by ITS America. ITS America’s Connected Vehicle Technical Insight looks at the challenges and opportunities wireless interoperability could provide in vehicle applications. In particular the 22-page document examines the processes by which data can be transferred from one vehicle to another (V2V), or between a vehicle and the infrastructure (V2I).
    Read More
  • February 1, 2012
    Developments in urban traffic management and control
    Mark Cartwright, Centaur Consulting, discusses developments in urban traffic management and control. Despite the concept of UTMC (Urban Traffic Management and Control) having been around for some years now, there remains a significant rump of confusion as to its relationship with its similar-sounding cousin UTC (Urban Traffic Control). To many people, the two are one and the same. However, this is not the case.
    Read More
  • February 6, 2020
    MaaS by any other name
    Has the roll-out of Mobility as a Service stalled - or could it just be that multimodal travel is simply happening under a variety of different names?
    Read More

Highlighted Content