[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3494 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3494
To prevent manufacturers of covered vehicles from accessing, selling,
or otherwise sharing covered data without consent of covered vehicle
owners, to require manufacturers of covered vehicles to provide covered
vehicle owners with access to, and control of, covered data, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 16, 2025
Mr. Lee introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prevent manufacturers of covered vehicles from accessing, selling,
or otherwise sharing covered data without consent of covered vehicle
owners, to require manufacturers of covered vehicles to provide covered
vehicle owners with access to, and control of, covered data, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Auto Data Privacy and Autonomy
Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Federal
Trade Commission.
(2) Covered data.--The term ``covered data'' means user
data and vehicle-generated data.
(3) Covered vehicle.--The term ``covered vehicle'' means a
motor vehicle or a vehicle primarily used for farming or
construction.
(4) Geolocation data.--The term ``geolocation data'' means
information that reveals the past or present physical location
of an individual, a covered vehicle, or device.
(5) Motor vehicle.--The term ``motor vehicle'' has the same
meaning given such term in section 30102(a) of title 49, United
States Code, and includes a motor vehicle trailer.
(6) Personally identifiable information.--The term
``personally identifiable information'' means information
that--
(A) directly identifies an individual such as the
name, address, social security number or other
identifying number or code, telephone number, or email
address of an individual;
(B) indirectly identifies an individual such as the
gender, race, or date of birth of an individual; or
(C) reveals the geolocation data or internet
activity of an individual.
(7) User data.--The term ``user data'' means data
transferred to a covered vehicle by the owner or user of such
vehicle.
(8) User preference.--The term ``user preference'' means
any choice with respect to a configurable setting of a covered
vehicle made by or for the benefit of the owner or user of such
covered vehicle.
(9) Vehicle-generated data.--The term ``vehicle-generated
data'' means all electronic data generated or processed onboard
a covered vehicle, such as data generated by sensors,
receivers, computer processing units, or other vehicle
components and includes the geolocation data of such covered
vehicle.
SEC. 3. USER DATA AND VEHICLE-GENERATED DATA PRIVACY AND SECURITY.
(a) Prohibition on Manufacturers.--With respect to a covered
vehicle, a manufacturer of such vehicle may not--
(1) access covered data, unless--
(A) the owner of such covered vehicle or, in the
event of the death or incapacity of such owner, the
next of kin of such owner affirmatively consents to
such manufacturer accessing such data and such
consent--
(i) is freely given;
(ii) is informed, specific, and
unambiguous;
(iii) is in writing; and
(iv) may be easily withdrawn; or
(B) such data is accessed solely to improve covered
vehicle performance or safety;
(2) sell, lease, or otherwise share covered data, unless--
(A) required to do so--
(i) pursuant to a lawfully executed
warrant;
(ii) pursuant to a court order that
provides the covered vehicle owner notice of
the order and at least 48 hours to object and
request a hearing; or
(iii) to facilitate an emergency response;
or
(B) the owner of such covered vehicle, or, in the
event of the death or incapacity of such owner, the
next of kin of such owner, affirmatively consents to
such manufacturer to do so and such consent--
(i) is freely given;
(ii) is informed, specific, and
unambiguous;
(iii) is in writing; and
(iv) may be easily withdrawn; or
(3) sell, license, rent, trade, transfer, release,
disclose, provide access to, or otherwise make available
personally identifiable information of a United States citizen
or lawful permanent resident to the following:
(A) The Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
(B) The People's Republic of China.
(C) The Russian Federation.
(D) The Islamic Republic of Iran.
(E) The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
(b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall, in consultation with the
Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of
Transportation, and the Federal Communications Commission, submit to
Congress a report that describes with respect to covered data--
(1) the types of such data that a manufacturer of a covered
vehicle accesses;
(2) the individuals and entities, other than a manufacturer
of a covered vehicle, that access such data;
(3) the Federal or State Government entities that access
such data and how such entities use such data;
(4) the individuals and entities to whom such data may be
sold or otherwise shared;
(5) the foreign governments to whom such data may be sold
or otherwise shared and how such data is used by such foreign
governments;
(6) the cybersecurity capabilities and risks associated
with covered vehicles;
(7) occurrences of such data being compromised, including
the prevalence of such occurrences and any entities with ties
to foreign governments associated with such occurrences; and
(8) a description of the feasibility of a technology-
neutral, standards-based, secure interface to allow an owner of
a covered vehicle access to such data designed without
preference or prejudice towards any technology or service used
to access and control such data by such owner, and not
contingent on ownership or licensing of proprietary
technologies by such owner or a manufacturer of a covered
vehicle.
SEC. 4. VEHICLE OWNER'S DATA ACCESS AND CONTROL.
(a) In General.--The manufacturer of a covered vehicle shall
provide to an owner of such vehicle access to, and control of, all
covered data generated or processed onboard, or transferred to, such
vehicle--
(1) at no cost beyond the purchase price of such vehicle;
(2) in real time;
(3) without any restriction or limitation on use or
authorizing access to third parties;
(4) without a requirement that the covered vehicle owner
pay a fee or purchase a license to decrypt such data or use a
device provided by such manufacturer to access and use such
data;
(5) through the vehicle's interface port and through
wireless transmission of such data to the extent such vehicle
is equipped with technology to wirelessly transmit such data;
and
(6) in a manner that enables the operation of an open
application programming interface that--
(A) facilitates deletion of all user data stored in
a covered vehicle; and
(B) enables the setting of any user preference by
the covered vehicle owner or another user of the
covered vehicle.
(b) Relation to Other Laws.--This section supersedes any statute,
rule, requirement or other legal obligation of a State of political
subdivision thereof that relates to the requirements of this section.
SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Unfair or Deceptive Act or Practice.--A violation of this Act
shall be treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or
deceptive act or practice under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal
Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)).
(b) Powers of the Commission.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall enforce this Act in
the same manner, by the same means, and with the same
jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though all applicable terms
and provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C.
41 et seq.) were incorporated into and made a part of this Act.
(2) Privileges and immunities.--Any person who violates
this Act shall be subject to the penalties and entitled to the
privileges and immunities provided in the Federal Trade
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.).
(3) Authority preserved.--Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to limit the authority of the Commission under any
other provision of law.
SEC. 6. DISCLOSURE OF CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION.
Except as provided in section 4, nothing in this Act shall require
a manufacturer of a covered vehicle to divulge confidential business
information (as that term is defined in section 512.3(c) of title 49,
Code of Federal Regulations).
SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Act shall take effect on the date that is 3 months after the
date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 8. NO NEW APPROPRIATIONS.
No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this Act. The Commission shall carry out this Act using amounts
otherwise appropriated.
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