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Your car is selling your data
Confirmed
In Short: California has enacted a new law to restrict how technology companies use student data, aiming to protect children’s privacy and prevent big tech from exploiting it for financial gain, according to Assemblymember Dawn Addis.
The law, Assembly Bill 1159, prohibits tech companies from using student data to train or develop AI models, expanding on California’s existing education technology law.
Meanwhile, a new report by The Verge reveals that car manufacturers like General Motors have been collecting vast amounts of data from their customers, often without their knowledge, and selling it to third parties for insurance risk profiles.
The Federal Trade Commission has imposed a five-year ban on GM selling customer data to consumer reporting agencies and third-party data brokers, following an investigation.
Critics argue that the data collection in cars is complex and opaque, making it difficult for consumers to understand what information is being gathered and how it is being used.
What's confirmed
- The law, Assembly Bill 1159, prohibits tech companies from using student data to train or develop AI models, expanding on California’s existing education technology law.
- Meanwhile, a new report by The Verge reveals that car manufacturers like General Motors have been collecting vast amounts of data from their customers, often without their knowledge, and selling it to third parties for insurance risk profiles.
- The Federal Trade Commission has imposed a five-year ban on GM selling customer data to consumer reporting agencies and third-party data brokers, following an investigation.
- Critics argue that the data collection in cars is complex and opaque, making it difficult for consumers to understand what information is being gathered and how it is being used.
What's still developing
- “Ensuring data privacy and protection is vital to our children’s well-being, dignity, and right to learn. No child should be put at risk of big tech taking advantage of their personal data for financial — or any kind of gain,” said Addis in a press release Thursday.
- A new law creates stricter rules for how companies gather and sell student data.
- The new law by Assemblymember Dawn Addis, a San Luis Obispo Democrat, also expands on California’s landmark education technology law, which limits how companies can use data from students in prekindergarten, preschool and K-12.
- The new law applies the same rules to the use of college students’ data and broadens the scope of companies subject to the regulations.
- The amount of data about you that many cars collect — and sell to third parties — is staggering.
- Many had unknowingly consented to it by signing up for an OnStar connected services plan, which activated a feature called Smart Driver that collected their driving data.
- In a 2024 blockbuster investigative report by The New York Times, some drivers said their insurance rates went up as a result of the data collection.
- With a vehicle, the data collection is spread across multiple systems and policies, making it much harder for consumers to understand what is happening.