Insurance claim reveals his car was spying on him and the clue was hiding in the logo

Toyota, a multinational automotive manufacturer, has made it to the news but for all the wrong reasons. A Polk County man sued the business and its affiliate, Connected Analytic Services, over alleged privacy violations. Phil Siefke, the complainant, had just bought a car and was driving up to get insurance when he was stuck with a hefty fee. Apparently, he had made a "hard break" just the day before. However, he'd only purchased the car, so how could they possibly have data from before? Turns out: his car was snooping on him all along. Siefke accused Toyota of selling unauthorized personal information to Progressive, an insurance company, without the owners' permission. Not just speed or location, but Siefke is certain that Toyota sells very personal information, including image and voice data, he told WTSP-TV. The most outstanding of them all, perhaps, is that they even know your seatbelt status.

Soon after purchasing his 2021 Toyota RAV4, he went to sign up for insurance and found that Progressive had already acquired his driving data from a tracking technology installed in the car. Siefke was confused; he couldn't understand how the insurance company could have every little detail about his driving — especially when they cited a "hard break" he made just yesterday. Siefke began his hunt for answers, and what he found was beyond shocking. He said Toyota gathers the information they need from radar sensors in the vehicle's logo, and then sells it to any third party who could benefit from it. Toyota may seem to have no intention to defend itself in public, but the company reportedly argued in a Texas court that the plaintiff had apparently agreed to share private information. Toyota justified that Siefke accepted the terms and conditions of its connected services, including the collection of data regularly for internal research, development, and data analysis.

"I want people's privacy to be protected. Everybody has a device sitting beside their bed right now... if they collected the same data, and it was readily available, they now know everything about you. Would you let me put a camera with sound inside your bedroom?" Siefke asked, urging people to be careful about who has access to their personal information. In December, a judge asked both parties to handle the case through arbitration, but Siefke said he's working with his team on alternative legal strategies that could allow the class action to continue in court despite the arbitration ruling. Scared of privacy violations, people nowadays are even contemplating whether to purchase vehicles at all.

In 2023, Kaspersky surveyed 2,000 American drivers and found that a majority of respondents (72%) were uncomfortable with the idea of their information being shared with third parties. In fact, 71% are so petrified of their data being leaked that they would consider buying an older car or one with less technology to protect their privacy and security. What's scarier is that only a handful of drivers know that their information is being monitored; for instance, the same survey found only 28% say they have some idea what kind of data their automaker collects. This means that the majority of drivers have been giving away their personal data without even knowing.

Meanwhile, reacting to the story, @nicenessispriceless2681 commented, "I worked for Toyota headquarters for years and know for a fact they not only take your data but sell it. So glad to hear he’s suing! It’s about time." Similarly, @insaanfullstop1 shared, "I had one of the insurance company 'smart' apps on my phone for a week. During that week they dinged me for 'a trip' going off-road (but I was on my bicycle). They dinged me for braking too often during 'a trip' in my apt. parking lot (but we have frequent, big speed bumps). Believe me, no one is gathering or buying and selling data in order to lower consumer costs."

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