Modern cars are chock full of sensors and connected to the internet via built-in cellular modems. That's a recipe for massive data collection. Last September, Mozilla's Privacy Not Included team released a blockbuster report how much data our cars were gathering and it was absolutely staggering. According to the hard-to-find privacy policies, your car can collect extremely personal information including precise location, contact lists from your phone, call and message data, and - believe it or not - even "sexual activity". Today, I'll walk through this report and its implications with the head of Mozilla's Privacy Not Included project, Jen Caltrider.
Interview Notes
Mozilla’s Privacy Not Included: https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/
Mozilla’s car report: https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/its-official-cars-are-the-worst-product-category-we-have-ever-reviewed-for-privacy/
Mozilla's report on AI chatbots: https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/happy-valentines-day-romantic-ai-chatbots-dont-have-your-privacy-at-heart/
Donate to Mozilla Foundation: https://donate.mozilla.org/
Mozilla layoffs: https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/13/mozilla-downsizes-as-it-refocuses-on-firefox-and-ai-read-the-memo/
Sign the petition to stop car data gathering! https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/car-companies-stop-your-huge-data-collection-programs-en/
Bruce Schneier article in Slate: https://slate.com/technology/2023/12/ai-mass-spying-internet-surveillance.html
Further Info
Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch
Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons
Send me your questions! https://fdsd.me/qna
Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support
Subscribe to the newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter
Check out my book, Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons: https://fdsd.me/book
Table of Contents
Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.
0:02:39: What were some top finding from your car privacy report?
0:05:14: Which cars did you review and how did you evaluate them?
0:09:44: How was I notified and how did I consent to my car's privacy policy?
0:10:39: What are cars tracking? Are electric cars any worse than gas cars?
0:13:55: What third party data mining is going on in my car?
0:20:41: Is there a way to opt out of data sharing?
0:24:10: Is less data collected in Europe?
0:26:02: Where is all my data stored? Locally, in the cloud, or both?
0:28:52: Is the data at least secured?
0:29:48: Can dealerships access my data? What about law enforcement?
0:32:28: What about rental or fleet cars? What about passengers?
0:37:24: Do car dealers disclose this data collection to shoppers?
0:39:11: What are some of the security problems with this data collection?
0:45:55: How did car makers and legislators respond to your report?
0:48:36: Do modern privacy laws cover auto data?
0:50:48: So what can we do about this today?
0:54:30: What will Privacy Not Included tackle next?
0:58:40: Wrap-up
Interview Notes
Mozilla’s Privacy Not Included: https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/
Mozilla’s car report: https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/its-official-cars-are-the-worst-product-category-we-have-ever-reviewed-for-privacy/
Mozilla's report on AI chatbots: https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/happy-valentines-day-romantic-ai-chatbots-dont-have-your-privacy-at-heart/
Donate to Mozilla Foundation: https://donate.mozilla.org/
Mozilla layoffs: https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/13/mozilla-downsizes-as-it-refocuses-on-firefox-and-ai-read-the-memo/
Sign the petition to stop car data gathering! https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/car-companies-stop-your-huge-data-collection-programs-en/
Bruce Schneier article in Slate: https://slate.com/technology/2023/12/ai-mass-spying-internet-surveillance.html
Further Info
Get your Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons Merch! https://fdsd.me/merch
Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons
Send me your questions! https://fdsd.me/qna
Support our mission! https://fdsd.me/support
Subscribe to the newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter
Check out my book, Firewalls Don’t Stop Dragons: https://fdsd.me/book
Table of Contents
Use these timestamps to jump to a particular section of the show.
0:02:39: What were some top finding from your car privacy report?
0:05:14: Which cars did you review and how did you evaluate them?
0:09:44: How was I notified and how did I consent to my car's privacy policy?
0:10:39: What are cars tracking? Are electric cars any worse than gas cars?
0:13:55: What third party data mining is going on in my car?
0:20:41: Is there a way to opt out of data sharing?
0:24:10: Is less data collected in Europe?
0:26:02: Where is all my data stored? Locally, in the cloud, or both?
0:28:52: Is the data at least secured?
0:29:48: Can dealerships access my data? What about law enforcement?
0:32:28: What about rental or fleet cars? What about passengers?
0:37:24: Do car dealers disclose this data collection to shoppers?
0:39:11: What are some of the security problems with this data collection?
0:45:55: How did car makers and legislators respond to your report?
0:48:36: Do modern privacy laws cover auto data?
0:50:48: So what can we do about this today?
0:54:30: What will Privacy Not Included tackle next?
0:58:40: Wrap-up
Activity