'The American People Have No Idea...': Debbie Dingell Sounds Alarm On Data Collection In New Cars

2 months ago

During a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) questioned FTC Chair Lina Khan, and the FTC Commissioners about data collection and sales, as well as efforts to crack down on bad actors.

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Transcript

00:00Privacy should be a fundamental right in this country,

00:03and this Committee has been diligently working

00:06to advance privacy protections.

00:08I'm hopeful that this Congress we can pass comprehensive

00:11federal privacy law, Oaks brings eternal.

00:16We must focus on ensuring

00:18that consumer data collection is minimized

00:20and that only necessary data is collected,

00:23used, retained, and transferred.

00:26Building consumer trust requires robust protections

00:29for sensitive data and stringent enforcement mechanisms

00:32for when those protections are violated.

00:36As vehicles become increasingly connected

00:38and capable of collecting vast amounts of data,

00:41it is essential to understand the implications

00:44of potential privacy risks associated with this technology

00:48and its impact on consumers.

00:50Recently, my colleague, Rup Kastur, and I

00:53wrote the Commission to express concerns

00:55around automotive manufacturers' data privacy practices.

00:59I appreciate your timely response,

01:00and I want to follow up with some questions.

01:02And I am going to say again,

01:04I think the American people have no idea

01:07how much of their privacy is being given away.

01:10And until they read in the New York Times

01:13that car companies were giving their data

01:15to insurance companies

01:16and it was hiking up their prices,

01:18it wasn't real, it didn't cost them money,

01:21and maybe, maybe we'll start to see more emphasis

01:26on why we need to do something.

01:28Chair Kahn, can you elaborate on proactive steps

01:31to prevent future privacy violations

01:33and talk about enforcement mechanisms

01:36related to connected vehicles?

01:39So, this is an important area of inquiry for us.

01:43We read a lot of those reports.

01:45We'd separately been hearing a lot of concern about this.

01:48And I think for a lot of people,

01:50they assume that when you're driving in your car,

01:53there's a base level of freedom that you have, right?

01:55You're not being surveilled.

01:57And I think across the board,

01:59people have been waking up to the reality

02:01that unfortunately, their precise geolocation

02:05is not only being collected and tracked by private companies

02:08but oftentimes is being trafficked, being bought and sold,

02:12including to foreign adversaries,

02:14to companies across the world.

02:16And so this is a major, major issue.

02:19At the FTC, we have kind of put market participants

02:23on notice about how we would view some of these data sharing

02:26and collection practices.

02:28We need to make sure at the very least

02:30that people are not being deceived.

02:32I'm limited in what I can share

02:34about any non-public investigations,

02:36but I can assure you that we are tracking this closely.

02:39Thank you.

02:40Chairman Kahn, what measures are being taken

02:42to ensure the consumers are fully informed

02:45about their data in relation to connected vehicles,

02:48third parties and data brokers?

02:51So, if companies were to engage

02:54in certain data collection practices,

02:57that they were not being fully upfront with users about,

03:01that could give rise to potential deception violations.

03:05More generally, the FTC has been very focused

03:08on categories of sensitive data.

03:11So that includes health data, it includes geolocation data,

03:14and through our enforcement actions, we have made clear

03:18that there has to be a presumption

03:19against selling the sensitive data.

03:22And so if you're collecting somebody's geolocation data,

03:25you can't just share it or sell it

03:27without getting their affirmative permission.

03:30And so that's a principle that would apply across the board,

03:33be it an app or a car.

03:36Chair Kahn, given the rapid evolution

03:38of connected vehicle technology,

03:41how does the commission plan to stay ahead

03:43of emerging data privacy challenges

03:46and ensure comprehensive protection for consumers?

03:49So we have fantastic experts on board

03:52that are studying this closely,

03:54that are really looking under the hood

03:55to understand what are the precise mechanisms

03:58by which some of this data is being collected,

04:01how can it be used?

04:03We have our law enforcement work ongoing,

04:05we have potential rulemakings underway,

04:08and so we will faithfully continue

04:10to use all of our tools and authorities

04:12to make sure that people's sensitive data is protected.

04:15Thank you.

04:16I'm gonna do a really fast question on total pricing rule

04:19and probably do more follow-up.

04:23Can you work, will you be working on the total pricing rule

04:27with the industry-specific regulatory agencies,

04:32including the FCC, which is testifying

04:34before the Communications and Technology Subcommittee

04:37downstairs today to ensure that your rules

04:40are harmonized with the rules of other federal agencies?

04:43You two run up, FCC and FTC, run up against each other.

04:47Yeah, as a general matter,

04:49we're always keen to be learning from our sister agencies.

04:53We have a great relationship with the FCC.

04:55As you know, there are areas where our jurisdictions

04:58do not overlap, and so they have oversight

05:01over common carriers and other providers

05:04that we cannot oversee, but nonetheless,

05:06it's always very useful to be learning from one another.

05:09Thank you.

05:10I'm gonna send more questions for the record on that.

05:13And I'm just gonna say as I close,

05:15I remember sitting with my colleagues

05:16on both sides of the aisle several years ago

05:19when I was bringing up issues,

05:23and someone said, what do you do?

05:24Do you take drugs and think about these things at night?

05:27People had no idea that cars are smart cars,

05:30just like they are on phones,

05:32and that's one of the serious issues facing us.

05:34I yield back, Mr. Chair.

05:36Kelly, you.

'The American People Have No Idea...': Debbie Dingell Sounds Alarm On Data Collection In New Cars

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