Guardian for mobility data in the car: consumers should decide for themselves how to use it

Created: 11/24/2022, 09:30 am

By: Sebastian Oppenheimer

The Federal Association of Consumers is calling for the introduction of a guardian for mobility data.

This should ensure more transparency and better control.

For decades, cars were almost completely analogue constructs.

This gradually changed from the 1970s onwards.

The first on-board computers appeared, which of course were initially very minimalist in their range of functions.

But soon there were more and more sensors in the car - for example for ABS, ESP or airbags - and the car itself became more and more networked.

Finally, navigation systems were added - and since almost every new car has an online connection, a large amount of data about destinations and use of the vehicle can be called up.

There is even work being done on monitoring the driver using artificial intelligence (AI).

The Federal Association of Consumers (vzbv) is therefore now calling for the establishment of a body that regulates the use of the data accordingly.

Countless mobility data are generated in cars these days – consumer advocates are demanding more transparency.

(Iconic image) © YAY Images/Imago

Guardian for mobility data in the car: consumers should decide for themselves how to use it

The "mobility data guardian" should be a kind of mixture of authorization authority and data trustee - however, the two areas of responsibility should be separated in order to ensure neutrality when handling mobility data.

The entire organization should then ensure that drivers have more control over their driving data.

Because it can quickly happen that sensitive data from the vehicle is unintentionally shared with others.

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Guardian for mobility data in the car: More transparency about access

The aim is to make transparent why companies need certain information, how long it is stored and which third parties are allowed to access it.

Consent to the processing of data by the manufacturer or the transfer to third parties should be granted and revoked as often as desired.

In order to be able to better control data processing, a so-called Personal Information Management System (PIMS) is to be introduced.

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However, the introduction of such a PIMS requires not only organisation, financing and standardized technical requirements but also an obligation on the part of the data processor to cooperate with such a system.

At the moment there are still no clear regulations for handling mobility data, in practice the car manufacturers have almost complete access.