MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — If Google has its way, gas stations and convenience stores could buy the rights to a popular song and offer it free, but only to customers who fill up at their locations, according to a report from an automotive publication.
The scenario stems from a recently filed patent from the Mountain View, Calif.-based Internet firm, which is beginning to establish growing online ties to the nation’s vehicles, said a report from Car and Driver.
In that patent, Google is trying to establish a system of content delivery into people’s cars using multiple technologies. Though patents are not business plans, the patent application puts Google’s systems in charge of the digital pathways into a car, including the Internet, satellite, hotspot gateways, cellular networks, GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, smartphones and other devices and methods, Car and Driver reported.
Such control can draw serious privacy concerns, according to consumer groups, with the main concern being that people who don’t provide the required information won't get those content services, said John Simpson, director of the Privacy Project for Consumer Watchdog, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that has tracked Google’s automotive efforts and frequently criticizes the company’s privacy practices.
“The privacy concerns are even greater with self-driving autonomous vehicles,” Simpson told Car and Driver. “Google could easily offer a self-driving car that would only operate if personal data were turned over to the company.”
Google is gaining a foothold into on-road content delivery with Android Auto, which will be installed in 2.5 million vehicles this year, according to Car and Driver.
Along with gas stations, the Google documentation says automobile repair shops, car-rental companies and satellite-radio stations could offer content and discounts to consumers who provide information, the report said.
Car and Driver said Google declined comment.
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