A black box in Ford automobiles basically tracks your every move.
Ford's Global VP of Marketing and Sales, Jim Farley touched on the topic during a panel discussion on data privacy at the 2014 Consumer Electrics Show in Las Vegas. Because of the GPS units installed in Ford vehicles, Ford knows when many of its drivers are speeding, and where they are while they're doing it. According to Business Insider, Farley was quoted as saying "We know everyone who breaks the law, we know when you're doing it. We have GPS in your car, so we know what you're doing." The first question on everyone's mind: Why in the world is Ford collecting this information? Farley later walked back on his comment saying Ford doesn't supply the data to anyone, and in what seems to be a quick PR move, a spokesperson said that in general, GPS units in Ford cars are not routinely pinging out their whereabouts as customers drive around. Later Farley also stated "I absolutely left the wrong impression about how Ford operates. We do not track our customers in their cars without their approval or consent." Cars have been collecting data on us for some time now. Yahoo Autos reports that 96 percent of new cars sold have data recorders, or "black boxes". As of now, manufacturers have been voluntarily including black boxes in the vehicles, but soon all cars may be mandated to have the black box technology.
