Ford Motor Company has filed a patent application for an in-vehicle advertisement presentation system based on information derived from several trip and driver characteristics. Among those characteristics — human conversations. The controller can monitor conversations and then increase or decrease the number of advertisements, based on keywords or phrases used in the conversation. Essentially, the car you’re driving would not only spy on your driving behavior — vehicle speed, braking pattern, etc. — but it would also eavesdrop on you. Many politicians agree that cars are a place where your privacy should be protected and have asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate car makers’ privacy practices. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued General Motors for selling customer driving data to third parties. Another controversial Ford patent filed in July described technology that would enable vehicles to monitor the speed of nearby cars, photograph them, and send the information to police.
