Commentary: Toyota, EDR’s, and privacy

As I was reading the news about Toyota, I flashed back to privacy concerns about Event Data Recorders installed in our cars, which are similar to the “black box” in airplanes (cf here and here).  Now the Associated Press is reporting that when such data  might actually be of help to car owners who are suing Toyota over safety issues and crashes they have experienced, Toyota has seemed less than  cooperative or forthcoming about what data are available on the EDRs in their cars.

Once again, ROI for giving up our privacy is not as high as it was cracked up to be when consumers were asked to cede a bit more of it.

My family has owned four Toyota’s over the years, and we own one now that does not seem to be involved in the recall.  We have always been satisfied that we got a good, reliable car for our money when we bought a Toyota.  So as a satisfied customer who is now beginning to doubt the integrity of the brand, I hope that Toyota realizes that it is more than the immediate litigation at stake here:  it is the reputation of the brand itself going forward.   Toyota:  do the right thing and cooperate fully about the data collected.