This ZDNet
column puts forth a nice reality check on my love of the idea of using
GPS devices as part of pricing personal auto insurance.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has been handing millions
of dollars to state governments for GPS-tracking pilot projects designed to
track vehicles wherever they go. So far, Washington state and Oregon have
received fat federal checks to figure out how to levy these “mileage-based
road user fees.”Now electronic tracking and taxing may be coming to a DMV near you. The
Office of Transportation Policy Studies, part of the Federal Highway
Administration, is about to announce another round of grants totaling some
$11 million. A spokeswoman on Friday said the office is “shooting for the
end of the year” for the announcement, and more money is expected for GPS
(Global Positioning System) tracking efforts.[...]The problem, though, is that no privacy protections exist. No
restrictions prevent police from continually monitoring, without a court
order, the whereabouts of every vehicle on the road.No rule prohibits that massive database of GPS trails from being
subpoenaed by curious divorce attorneys, or handed to insurance companies
that might raise rates for someone who spent too much time at a neighborhood
bar. No policy bans police from automatically sending out speeding tickets
based on what the GPS data say.
Obviously, privacy laws need to be beefed up in the face of new technology.
Sadly, neither the Elephants nor the Donkeys appear to have much interest in
even acknowledging a right to privacy exists, much less passing legislation
to protect that right.
That doesn’t stop me from lusting over the nifty-keen idea of GPS rating,
however. 