Automakers Sold Driver Data for Shockingly Low Price

Automakers Sold Driver Data Cheaply: Senators call on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate automakers selling customers’ driving data to brokers who then sell to insurance companies.

Associates from Sen. Wyden’s office investigated the three automakers concerning the matter. The three automakers are GM, Hyundai and Honda. 

Automakers Sold Driver Data Cheaply

According to The New York Times, Wyden’s office looked into the three automakers and found they shared data with broker Verisk Analytics.

The company sold the data to insurers. The Senators said the automakers sold driver data cheaply.

Verisk paid Honda $25,920 over four years for information about 97,000 cars, amounting to just 26 cents per car. 

Hyundai was paid just over $1 million for data on roughly 1.7 million cars over six years, totaling 61 cents a car. 

However, according to Time Argus, GM in an email denied that it deceived customers into enrolling in the data-sharing program with Verisk. 

The email read, “Data was only shared with an insurer if a customer initiated a quote directly with their chosen carrier and provided a separate consent to that carrier.”

Federal Trade Commission To Stop Automakers From Selling Driver Data

This unique information was disclosed in a letter sent by Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts to the Federal Trade Commission on Friday.

The senators urged the F.T.C ‘s chairwoman, Lina Khan, to investigate the matter and protect Americans’ privacy. 

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The letter read, “Companies should not be selling Americans’ data without their consent, period. But it is particularly insulting for automakers that are selling cars for tens of thousands of dollars to squeeze out a few additional pennies of profit with consumers’ private data. Also, it’s against Americans’ privacy.”

Verisk however disagreed with Wyden and Markey and said in a statement that it “acts to ensure data is accessed and used appropriately.”

The company also said using data responsibly was the cornerstone of our business.