Sen. Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville, and Reps. Jesse Kremer, R-Kewaskum, and Romaine Quinn, R-Rice Lake, are seeking support for the bill among fellow lawmakers.
It gives vehicle owners control of data collected by their vehicle’s black box — known in the industry as event data recorders, or EDRs — specifying that others could access it only with the owner’s permission.
Most newer vehicles have such boxes, capable of tracking things like a vehicle’s speed, whether the driver brakes or accelerates and whether that person is wearing a seat belt.
Currently, the boxes record such data only in the seconds before, during and after a crash. But critics worry about how much more information the devices might collect as they become more sophisticated.
“As EDRs develop in complexity and interactivity, this legislation will ensure that Wisconsin’s motorists are sufficiently protected from unauthorized data access and transmission,” the lawmakers wrote in a memo to their colleagues.
Who owns EDR data is a state-by-state question. Wisconsin law is silent on the matter, bill supporters told the Wisconsin State Journal. Kremer said it’s a typical case of state law not keeping pace with technology.
At least 23 other states have passed laws defining who owns EDR data, according to Steve Panten, a spokesman for ABATE of Wisconsin, a motorcyclists’ rights advocacy group that supports the bill.
“We need to start addressing some of these privacy issues,” Kremer said.
The bill says insurance companies would not be able to link the issuance or renewal of a liability policy to whether the vehicle has such a box, or whether the motorist allows the insurer to access or use data it collects.
Some insurers have begun offering “safe driver discounts” contingent on motorists installing a device that tracks how they drive. The bill lifts its data-access restrictions for motorists who consent to share the data with their insurer for such a policy.
The bill faces a steep climb to become law this year, as it’s on course to be introduced near the close of the current two-year session.
If nothing else, Quinn said he hopes the bill makes more Wisconsinites aware that their vehicles may collect data on how they drive — and that they should be conscious of who obtains it.
“Technology today really can be more invasive than you think, and potentially can be used against you,” Quinn said.
©2016 The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wis.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
