A Roadblock to Self-Driving Cars: Who Owns the Data?

One question that may be holding back progress toward autonomous cars - who will own the data?

As more automakers look toward partnerships with technology companies to develop their cars into self-driving transportation vehicles, one wrench in the wheel appears to be a disagreement over who will own the data garnered from the vehicle.

As some of the earliest self-driving car models come into reality, the data gathered from those early cars-mapping, sensor data, traffic data, efficiency, and much more-is incredibly valuable to many parties.

However, other data collected could be on the drivers themselves-where they eat, where they shop, what movies they like to see and more, explains TheStreet.com, especially as in-car shopping and entertainment systems become more popular.

Therefore, it’s no surprise that the question of the ownership of such data is a very big deal.

In fact, determining that ownership is what several news outlets report put the brakes on partnership talks between General Motors and Google previously, as well as talks between Ford and Google. TheStreet reports the point of contention could also be complicating GM’s recent acquisition of San Francisco-based self-driving car tech firm Cruise Automation.

“Automakers don’t want to relinquish control of data in return for access to computer code; at least, not now,” TheStreet said.

Now, Google has confirmed it will be partnering with Fiat-Chrysler. Google’s technology will be put into 100 Chrysler Pacifica mini-vans for testing on public roads.

Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne recently told Reuters that the question of who will own the data from the prototype vans has yet to be determined, but it seems that talks are going amicably. TheStreet speculated, “More than likely, [Fiat-Chrysler] had to agree to respect Google’s boundaries pertaining to software and intellectual property.”

Marchionne said to Reuters, though, before they get that far, they need to get the vans up and working.

“We need to get to a stage where the car is viable so we can discuss the spoils of that work. We’re not there,” he told Reuters.