Drivers alone must be able to decide on the use of their vehicle data: This core demand, which the Association of European Automobile Clubs (EAC) has been addressing to the political actors in the Commission and Parliament for years, is now at the heart of the #Data4Drivers campaign. "This initiative shows how important the question of data sovereignty is for each individual consumer. Even in times of increasingly connected cars, consumers must be able to decide for themselves which services to choose from which provider for their vehicle. This is only possible if you have sole control over the access and use of your vehicle data," EAC President Bernd Opolka emphasizes.
To reinforce this demand, the EAC calls for support for the #Data4Drivers campaign. At the heart of the campaign is a petition calling on policy-makers to create a legally clear framework for direct, interoperable and independent access to vehicle data. Since these generally allow conclusions to be drawn about the driver and can therefore be classified as personal data, only the driver may decide whether or not to access the data. "In practice, however, it is the manufacturers who drive forward their proprietary solutions, who collect data and want to continue to manage them without the driver," Opolka explains the current situation. "This is where action is needed. The European Parliament has already taken the first step. The ball is now in the Commission's court."
On 13 March, the European Parliament adopted the own-initiative report on C-ITS applications in transport, which calls, inter alia, for a draft law to regulate access to vehicle data by the end of the year. It is now up to the Commission to make a proposal.
EAC Press Release (PDF), 9 April 2018.