FTC CAUTIONS AUTO INDUSTRY ON DATA PROTECTION
Federal Trade Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen issued a stern warning to the automotive industry that they will have to take steps to protect customer information or face enforcement actions from her agency. Ohlhausen, speaking at the Washington Auto Show’s Public Policy review panel, cautioned that automakers need to take into account the security of information contained in their vehicles as they develop new generations of self-driving and networked cars that, while improving safety, also share tremendous amount of data with the world around them. Ohlhausen highlighted the risks posed by the transmittal of this data including vehicle tracking and possible hacking concerns. The FTC recently concluded a round of high profile enforcement actions against app manufacturers for failure to protect consumer data, Ohlhausen noted that if auto manufacturers don’t take reasonable steps to protect data they could face similar actions.
