As much as Ford has been in the press for otherwise positive reasons these days, the company is knee deep in bad PR after comments pertaining to the collection of data from Ford’s Jim Farley, one of the world’s premier car manufacturers is feeling the heat for the time being.
All was revealed when Senator Al Franklin (D-MN), and other members of Congress, asked questions related to data consumption and storage. According to The Detroit News, after the car company in question took the liberty to refine its statements, Ford claims its data collection is for product improvement and troubleshooting only, and requires permission from its drivers.
In the hope of avoiding further scrutiny, Ford also detailed out how the data is stored. Location data from on-board navigation systems as well as travel information from Ford’s SYNC system is kept on record – the former kept for up to several weeks on the vehicles own storage system, whilst the latter is stored for 60 days by Ford, according to the report.
In today’s day and age, location services are active on every device from smartphones to in-car computers, so this writer is a bit unsure as to why such a big raucous had developed from a Ford executive’s overzealous voice-box. What he will say, however, is people are becoming aware of such data-tracking services and the thought is somewhat frightening.
In light of such a developing awareness, Sen. Franklin is looking to revisit his location privacy bill – the Senator himself echoing the consumer desire for protection of sensitive information. Stay tuned for further information on developments on Ford’s data collection and storage.
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