FTC Looks to Drive Consensus on Connected Vehicle Privacy/Security

The Federal Trade Commission has slated June 28 to launch its latest privacy stakeholder meetings, in this case on connected vehicles and in collaboration with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In its public notice announcing the meeting, the FTC pointed to a Forbes story predicting that by 2020 autonomous vehicles will generate 4,000 gigabits apiece of data per day, compared to the 650-per-day that people now generate using PCs and mobile devices. 

The FTC has held similar meetings on a variety of issues including the Internet of Things, facial recognition and apps, all with the goal of examining the privacy and security issues of the increasingly broadband-connected world and coming up with voluntary privacy standards if possible. 

Issues to be raised at that first workshop in D.C. will include:

  1. the types of data vehicles with wireless interfaces collect, store, transmit, and share;
  2. potential benefits and challenges posed by such data collection;
  3. the privacy and security practices of vehicle manufacturers;
  4. the role of the FTC, NHTSA, and other government agencies regarding privacy and security issues related to connected vehicles; and
  5. self-regulatory standards that might apply to privacy and security issues related to connected vehicles.

The FCC is also seeking public comment on those and other issues, including what role the government should take in vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to infrastructure (V2I)—roads, bridges, gas stations—privacy and security. 

Comments are due April 20.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.