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Ford Exec: 'We Know Everyone Who Breaks the Law' Thanks To Our GPS In Your Car
An anonymous reader sends this report from Business Insider:
"[Ford VP Jim Farley] was trying to describe how much data Ford has on its customers, and illustrate the fact that the company uses very little of it in order to avoid raising privacy concerns: 'We know everyone who breaks the law, we know when you're doing it. We have GPS in your car, so we know what you're doing. By the way, we don't supply that data to anyone,' he told attendees. Rather, he said, he imagined a day when the data might be used anonymously and in aggregate to help other marketers with traffic related problems. Suppose a stadium is holding an event; knowing how much traffic is making its way toward the arena might help the venue change its parking lot resources accordingly, he said."
Farley later realized how his statement sounded, and added, "We do not track our customers in their cars without their approval or consent."
Farley later realized how his statement sounded, and added, "We do not track our customers in their cars without their approval or consent."
Approval or consent, English-American, verb: To use. To accept the licensing terms. To look at. To think about.
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Don't buy ford.
Fired, CEO, def.: To be given a bonus. To be handed large amounts of money. Given an early retirement with free company-provided yachts.
Fired, you, def.: To be fucked. Screwed. Rendered destitute. Forced to sell everything of value and told you are a drain on the resources of society.
--
No matter how badly a CEO fucks up, they still get a "punishment" that's far in excess of any reward you'll likely get for your entire career, no matter how big the contribution.
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Meaning it's listed somewhere in the bill of sale. "Well you bought the car, didn't you? There's your consent"
Of course they don't need it. My ten year old ford isn't sending them any info, but they were still quite capable of making cars a decade ago.
The issue is why they want it, and it's because data is valuable. From a vehicle manufacturer's point of view it's actually most useful in anonymous aggregate. They are interested in trends. If they see lots of warranty claims, they may be able to isolate them to a group of drivers with similar driving style then mitigate this in future product designs.
From a business perspective, they will always be looking at new markets like the one suggested by the exec.
The biggest issue for me is the absolute lack of data protection laws in the US. There is an urgent need for some default rules that determine what can and cannot be done with customer data.
Customers don't generally report casual breakdowns, for example. Also, habit trends can help with designing newer models. You'll always get a better picture of your customers' habits with transparent metrics.
Let's not forget that a complete history of your driving habits can be sold to third parties for a nice profit. Oh, did I mention by third parties I mean anyone, ever? You don't need a search warrant... just pay the $5 to get a complete "enhanced driver profile". I know what you're thinking: Aren't there laws against this? Maybe, but you agreed to let them do whatever they want when you turned the key and drove it off the lot; says so in the small print.
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Of course they don't track the customer. What they track is the vehicle,,, and the vehicle has no rights.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
The first thing I'll be doing is hunting around with ball-peen hammer for the GPS module.
The end.
Not if you have a spouse. [Annoyed grunt] They really don't care for principled economic losses (in this case, resale value). Ignorance-based losses (like not changing the oil) they're cool with. Principle, no.
I am not a crackpot.
The solution will never happen. There is only two ways it'll happen:
1. Boards stop that horseshit but they won't. They'll take care of their buddies and BS the shareholders by saying "We NEED to offer those compensation packages in order to get the best talent." And we all know that CEO talent has very little to do with business performance - although, the runup of Yahoo! because Meyer being hired - and no improvement in company fundamentals - showed the stupidity of Wall Street.
2. Regulation - which won't happen because the majority of Americans are under the delusion that all they have to do is work harder and they can one day be in that position and therefore; any laws in that regard will hurt them down the line. And also, the propaganda about "Socialism" and what have you from the business/money'ed class' mouthpieces in the media.
Fired, you, def.: To be fucked. Screwed. Rendered destitute. Forced to sell everything of value and told you are a drain on the resources of society.
Synonym: Married.
See also: Divorced.
Suppose a stadium is holding an event; knowing how much traffic is making its way toward the arena might help the venue change its parking lot resources accordingly, he said.
... or you could just count the number of tickets sold.
One reason car companies collect this data is to steal the car back from you (repossess it) in the event of non-payment. The GPS tracking is often turned over to the Repo operators when they need to go steal your car back.
True. And it works because of the incredibly low level of understanding about modern technology. Anyone with a wire cutter, soldering iron, and a few long runs of wire can thoroughly disable such a system. It's usually just a box wired directly to the battery and has a relay in series with the ignition. Cut the power leads and solder a wire to bridge the relay and you're done. Total time: 10 minutes. For bonus points, buy a deep cycle marine battery, a 50 gallon drum, and throw the result inside then seal it up and drop it off in the nearest river. It'll happily chirp it's location as it floats nine states away and off into the ocean.
But then, I was feeling really bitchy when I helped a friend do this...
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