Cathy Mulrow-Peattie Discusses Connected Car Technology and Data Privacy Blind Spots in Bloomberg Law

Cathy Mulrow-Peattie was quoted in a Bloomberg Law article that reviewed the complex regulatory challenges implicated by connected car technology surveillance and data privacy.

The U.S. Department of Commerce, Federal Communications Commission, and Federal Trade Commission are each proposing and issuing new rules and regulatory guidance to protect drivers' personal data. As cars become more connected, their ability to collect large amounts of driver personal data, augmented by artificial intelligence technology, will implicate even greater data protection and cybersecurity concerns. Carmakers and adjacent service providers are being scrutinized by federal and state regulators for selling and sharing user driver personal data to third parties.

Mulrow-Peattie pointed to an emerging "patchwork quilt" of state and federal data privacy regulations that car manufacturers must navigate, noting that this patchwork was “something really new to car industries who were looking at the federal level for many years, but now have to deal with state regulation as well.”

In a follow-up to the coverage, Mulrow-Peattie said:

We are in a new era of heightened privacy and cybersecurity regulation. Regulators are calling on car manufacturers and related service providers to change their existing privacy practices so that consumers understand in very simple and clear terms how their personal data is being used in connected cars. It is a laudable goal, but given the complexity of connected cars, it is not a simple task. It may be time for the industry to join with regulators to develop model privacy notices and cyber security controls on and for connected car technologies so it is clear what “compliance” looks like. 

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• “Car Surveillance Rules Risk Gaps Amid Agencies’ Piecemeal Moves” was published by Bloomberg Law on September 10, 2024.