Compliance Management, Network Security, Privacy

Ford vows to protect data, seeks car owner permission to share

Even as it adds more electronics to its vehicles, Ford will make personal data protection a priority, promising not to use customer data without the express consent of the car owner, a Ford executive said Wednesday, speaking at Web Summit in Dublin.

"We view the data as your data," a CNET report quoted Don Butler, the automaker's executive director of connected vehicles and services, as saying. "We at Ford are merely stewards of that data on your behalf. We're not doing anything without your informed consent and permission."

Ford, like many companies, wants to get its hands on the data gathered from the approximate 70 computer systems in the average car running as much as 70 million lines of code, CNET said. But Butler added the onus is on Ford to make a compelling case to use it. "Our challenge is to deliver value that convinces you to share that permission," the report quoted him as saying.

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