BYD Removes China and Surveillance Terms from Privacy Policy
BYD updated its Australian privacy policy to remove specific references to China and surveillance, though experts note legal loopholes remain.
Key points
- BYD removed explicit references to China and surveillance from its Australian privacy policy after receiving questions from Four Corners.
- The updated policy still permits cross-border data transfers, meaning information could legally be sent to China despite the removed wording.
- Privacy experts argue that Australia's 1988 Privacy Act is ill-equipped to handle the data collection practices of modern connected vehicles.
Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD has quietly removed references to China and surveillance from its Australian privacy policy. This change occurred just days after the company received formal questions from the investigative program Four Corners regarding its data handling practices.
The original document granted the company broad discretion to collect data on Australian vehicle owners, including through suspected illegal activity monitoring. It also listed China as one of sixteen countries where customer data could potentially be sent, raising significant concerns among privacy experts.
Rapid updates following media inquiry
BYD responded to the inquiries by stating its policy had undergone a review and been updated. The new version was uploaded to the company's Australian website just over an hour before it was sent to reporters. All explicit mentions of China and surveillance activities were deleted in this revision.
However, the update introduced some confusion, as the website now directs users to a separate document within the BYD app for vehicle-specific terms. Despite the removal of specific country names, the new policy still allows for cross-border data transfers if deemed necessary, citing compliance with applicable laws.
Legal loopholes persist despite edits
Privacy law expert Dr. Katharine Kemp from UNSW noted that removing the word China does not prevent data from being sent there. Under current Australian law, data can be transferred overseas as long as the recipient country has comparable protections or the user consents, leaving a significant gap in enforcement.
BYD maintains that Chinese authorities have no access to Australian user data and would not transfer it. However, critics point out that China’s national security laws require companies to cooperate with government requests, creating a potential conflict of interest that the updated privacy policy does not fully resolve.
Outdated laws struggle with connected cars
The Australian Privacy Act, originally passed in 1988, was not designed to address the complexities of modern connected vehicles. BYD acknowledges this gap, stating that the industry is applying regulations that likely did not foresee such technology emerging nearly four decades later.
The government has recently released draft legislation to update privacy laws, specifically acknowledging risks from emerging technologies. Dr. Kemp argues that these changes are long overdue, noting that most connected car privacy policies fail to meet basic standards of fairness and reasonableness for consumers.
