(NewsNation) — A new report suggests that your car might be doing more than just getting you from point A to point B — it could be spying on you.
The New York Times investigation reveals that many automobiles are spying on their drivers’ behavior and covertly sharing that data with insurance companies and others without owners’ knowledge.
The report found several major automakers are using optionally connected car apps to track driving metrics including hard braking, rapid acceleration and speeding. This telematics data is then analyzed by data brokers such as LexisNexis Risk Solutions to create “risk scores” provided to insurers.
Insurance companies are using these secret risk assessments to raise rates for some drivers exhibiting patterns they deem unsafe — even if the motorists have clean records without accidents or tickets.
“Drivers today don’t realize that their car is a computer … collecting information about everything that you do,” said Kashmir Hill, the Times’ technology reporter behind the expose, in a Wednesday interview on NewsNation’s “Dan Abrams Live.”
Hill uncovered the data sharing after monitoring online forums where drivers of vehicles such as the Chevy Bolt and Cadillac reported unexplained rate hikes. One Cadillac owner in Florida was denied by seven insurers based on his LexisNexis report before paying double his prior premium.
The issue took an even darker turn for Christine Dowdall, a domestic violence survivor who believes her estranged husband illegally used the Mercedes-Benzmbrace app to track her vehicle’s location and stalk her after she fled.
“I contacted [Mercedes] so many times … it didn’t matter,” Dowdall said. “The only time they ever contacted me was about a payment.”
Drivers of General Motors vehicles including the Chevy Bolt, Camaro and Corvette reported sudden spikes in their insurance rates.
The data was provided to LexisNexis by GM’s in-vehicle telematics system called “Smart Driver.”
While automakers claim these tracking features can be disabled, Hill notes the data may remain with third-party brokers even after opting out.
“It’s shocking how little awareness there is among drivers regarding the extent of data collection by their cars,” Hill said. “Many were completely unaware that their vehicles were meticulously documenting their driving habits and transmitting this information to third-party entities.”
A study by the Mozilla Foundation found that 84% of 25 different car brands analyzed, including Nissan, Toyota, Chevy, BMW and Kia, share and sell customer data. This includes not just driving habits, but also potentially sensitive information including medical records, genetic data and even details about your sex life.
But the privacy invasion doesn’t stop there. The report also reveals that over half of the car brands studied can share personal information with law enforcement and government agencies without a court order.