OPINION:
As Congress continues exploring legislative solutions to mitigate Big Tech’s data monopoly, there is another industry where similar scrutiny is long overdue. It might surprise some to know that industry is what might be called “Big Auto.”
With more cameras, censors, and Bluetooth entertainment systems spurring the growth of autonomous vehicles, our cars becoming more connected by the day. That means more technology, increased user utility, and yes, more data collection.
McKinsey & Co. estimates that cars produce roughly 25 gigabytes of data per hour. Some even have 300 gigabyte hard drives — five times the size of that of an iPhone 11.
All this should be great news for consumers. Unfortunately, however, rather than looking out for the best interests of their customers, many Big Auto manufacturers are putting profits first.
Research indicates this data could present $2 trillion in new revenue across a diverse array of industries, including vehicle maintenance, entertainment and shopping. And while tech giants like Apple and Google continue to suck up troves of user data through cars’ entertainment systems and streaming services, many automakers have limited the information these tech giants can collect — not to protect it for consumers, but to keep it for themselves.
For the sake of the data privacy movement, Congress must act now. A Big Auto monopoly on this data will present just as many negative ramifications for Americans as Big Tech doing the same.
Should Congress allow it to occur, the same antitrust and market share concentration problems will occur.
While Apple, Alphabet (Google) and Meta Platforms (Facebook) all have top-75 spots on the Fortune Global 500 list, so do the top eight automakers — and autonomous vehicles are still in their infancy.
If the legislative branch does not intervene, automakers will only grow larger in the years to come as these vehicles of the future (and the data nets that come with them) become more common.
That’s a problem, because these automakers are already behaving like reckless monopolists with the personal information they have now.
According to a 2021 investigation and report from Cybel Angel (an organization focused on external attack surface protection and management), the automobile industry is already at severe risk of ransomware attacks. The company found 215,000 employees with credentials exposed or compromised; 800,000 documents hosted on exposed servers, clouds, and databases; and 235,000 exposed assets.
If left unchecked, Big Auto’s data business can soon make the 2018 Google+ API data breach and recent $725 million Facebook user privacy settlement look tame by comparison.
As if that’s not enough reason for concern, some of today’s top automakers — including Volvo, which is ranked eighth on the Fortune Global 500 list — are based in China. Without speedy congressional intervention, the legislative branch can quickly find itself scrambling to address the next dangerous Chinese data vacuum, similar to what it’s scrambling to do right now with TikTok.
Big Tech obtained its data monopoly because few policymakers were prepared for what the modern technological age would bring. The speed and vigor with which these tech firms developed their businesses and consumer offerings proved both a blessing and a curse. Congress is still trying to reconcile this dichotomy today.
Thankfully, in this one crucial respect, the coming Big Auto data monopoly is different. Congress knows the data these car companies collect can increase consumers’ user experiences and overall quality of life, but only if the drivers can access and control all the information that’s collected, generated and stored by these vehicles.
As House Innovation, Data and Commerce subcommittee Chair Gus Bilirakis, Florida Republican, and ranking member Jan Schakowsky, Illinois Democrat, join their congressional colleagues in crafting a regulatory framework for self-driving vehicles in the coming days, they should consider creating a Driver’s Data Rights Act that guarantees all this data belongs to the drivers themselves, i.e., the people creating that data.
Such legislation is the only way to ensure carmakers remain accountable to the public in the months, years and generations to come. But Congress needs to act quickly. This may be the last chance to be proactive and solve a pressing public policy concern, rather than an ineffective and reactive response after the fact.
Congress can’t afford to miss this opportunity. Their constituents’ right to privacy depends on it.
• Former Rep. Jason Altmire, Pennsylvania Republican, is a former member of the Transportation Committee in the House of Representatives.
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