US Senate Approves Committee Comprised of Aftermarket Reps

In consultation with the NHTSA and the FTC, the aftermarket committee will produce a comprehensive report on vehicle data, intellectual property protections, customer privacy, cybersecurity, and vehicle safety within two years.

Oct. 5, 2017

2 min read

Oct. 5, 2017—The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation has adopted an amendment to establish a federal advisory committee comprised of aftermarket representatives and other stakeholders.

The amendment, offered by U.S. Sen. James M. Inhofe, R-Okla., was added to S. 1885, the American Vision for Safer Transportation Through Advancement of Revolutionary Technologies (AV START) Act.

Included in the scope of the Committee is a review of data access and cybersecurity issues. In consultation with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Committee will produce a comprehensive report on vehicle data, intellectual property protections, customer privacy, cybersecurity, vehicle safety, etc., within two years.

In addition, the amendment requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study of the technologies currently available to remove data that may be personally identifiable or attributable to an individual from used vehicles upon their sale to a new owner or from leased or rented vehicles at the completion of the lease or rental contract. To see the full text of the amendment, please visit TakingTheHill.com.

ASA would like to thank its members who wrote in support of the amendment and those senators on the Commerce Committee who assisted in the effort.

The legislation will now go to the floor of the U.S. Senate. Floor time has not been scheduled yet. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed their version of the legislation.