Concerns around data privacy have been growing around the world in an era when almost everything around our lives is seamlessly connected. The automotive world is not different as modern vehicles, especially cars come with a wide range of connected technologies onboard. These connected technologies ensure the vehicles and their manufacturers know a lot about the owners. Lack of transparency and no concrete data safety mechanism fuels the concerns around data breaches. Nine leading car manufacturers including Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Mazda, BMW, Volkswagen, Subaru, and Nissan have been accused of disclosing their consumers' location data to government authorities in the US without asking for a warrant.

The New York Times has reported that US Senators have been urging both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to take stringent steps to protect the consumers' data. What their letters have divulged, fuels serious privacy concerns. The report claims that in one of the letters the Senators have written to the FTC and FCC, nine leading car manufacturers like Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Mazda, BMW, Volkswagen, Subaru, and Nissan have been accused of sharing their consumers location data, which considers to be a private information to the government authorities without asking for a warrant. These auto companies have reportedly given up location data to authorities without a warrant, which is a breach of their own voluntary promise of keeping the data safe.

The report also claims that a study has found that among 14 car manufacturing companies, only Ford, Ford, General Motors, Stellantis, Honda, and Tesla require a warrant for sharing their consumers' private data. Also, among these 14 automakers, only Tesla will inform its customers of such government requests.

The concerns around the safety of consumers' data have been increasing fast amid the report that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is working on how it would mandate blood alcohol level testers and speed limit warning devices in cars. The insurance companies have already been accused of tapping into vehicles' data to raise rates on consumers.

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