A federal class action lawsuit against Toyota Motor North America Inc. has been filed in the Eastern District of Texas. According to the lawsuit, the carmaker, Progressive Casualty Insurance Company, and Connected Analytic Services (CAS) illegally gathered and exchanged drivers’ personal and vehicle data without the owners’ express authorisation.
The Lawsuit’s Background
Philip Siefke, a citizen of Florida and owner of a 2021 Toyota RAV4 XLE, filed the lawsuit. Siefke learned that his car had been sending private driving information to outside companies without his consent, according to court filings. When he tried to buy an insurance policy on Progressive’s website in January 2025, this information became apparent. When he signed up, he chose not to participate in Progressive’s Snapshot data-sharing program, but a pop-up message told him that Progressive already had his driving history through January 20, 2025.
After getting in touch with Progressive, Siefke discovered that the insurance company had used monitoring equipment in his Toyota car to get his driving information. He was engaged in a data-sharing trial program, which he claims he never agreed to, according to other questions he asked Toyota. According to Siefke, Toyota did not notify him that his driving information would be shared with outside parties.
Accusations against Toyota and Related Parties
According to the lawsuit, Progressive was given access to a wealth of vehicle data, including speed, braking patterns, location, direction, and other driving behaviours, by Toyota and CAS without the drivers’ permission. Progressive allegedly utilised the information to evaluate driving patterns for their Snapshot program, which provides insurance savings based on driving patterns.
According to Siefke’s complaint, Toyota’s data-sharing policies are in violation of both federal and state privacy regulations, such as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Wiretap Act. In order to stop the defendants from collecting and sharing data in the future without authorisation, the action requests damages as well as an injunction.
Industry Context and Wider Consequences
The data collection methods used by automakers are a source of increasing concern, which is seen in this case. Due to claims that they were exchanging owner data without permission, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an inquiry into a number of automakers in January 2025, including Toyota, Ford, Hyundai, and FCA.
Modern cars are “a privacy nightmare,” according to a 2023 study by the Mozilla Foundation, which also noted that many of them gather and send enormous volumes of personal data without sufficient user understanding or agreement.
Toyota’s Reaction and Data Privacy Guidelines
According to Toyota, information is only shared with outside parties with the owner’s permission. Nonetheless, the lawsuit argues that drivers are frequently ignorant of Toyota’s data collection and sharing procedures and that the company’s rules are deceptive. According to Siefke’s experience, users’ information may still be sent to third parties even if they choose not to participate in data-sharing schemes.
The lawsuit also names Connected Analytic Services as a consumer reporting agency and data aggregator. CAS is charged with gathering and selling driving information to insurance providers and other organisations without the owners’ consent.
Possible Effects on Customers and the Automobile Sector
The case’s verdict may have a big impact on customer privacy and the data practices of the car industry. Stricter rules and more scrutiny of how automakers gather and distribute driver data could result from a court ruling that Toyota and its partners broke privacy laws.
To learn how their information is utilised, consumers are encouraged to evaluate the data-sharing settings on their car and refer to the privacy rules of the manufacturer. The industry will probably focus more on the significance of open data practices and user consent as cars are more interconnected.
