News
WINSTON-SALEM, NC—Womble Bond Dickinson attorney Victoria Alvarez was a speaker at a recent American Bar Association Webinar on “Automotive Data on the Docket: Legal, Ethical, and Consumer Issues.”
The vehicles on the road today collect large amounts of data that can reveal personal data about drivers. The amount of data collected and transmitted by vehicles will increase dramatically as vehicles with higher levels of autonomy and connectivity become commonplace. Geolocation data, biometric data, and other sensitive data that may be covered by privacy laws will be stored in vehicles, and will be sought as evidence in a wide range of cases. Alvarez and the other panelists discussed legal and regulatory approaches to autonomous and connected vehicles; the types of data collected by the vehicles; consumers' concerns about privacy and their willingness to share this information; how this data may be used in litigation; and what attorneys need to know about this data in order to properly represent their clients.
Highlights of the discussion included:
- Consumer views towards data privacy and data sharing;
- Evidentiary issues associated with data collected by connected and autonomous vehicles; and
- Ethical issues associated with data collected by connected and autonomous vehicles.
Other participants included Lisa Joy Rosner of Otonomo and Judge Ronald Hedges of Dentons. Attorney Gail Gottehrer moderated the discussion.
The Webinar was presented by the ABA’s Tort Trial & Insurance Practice (TIPS) Section and took place Feb. 11.
Victoria Alvarez is an accomplished litigator who focuses her practice on products liability and mass tort actions. She has represented corporate clients in a number of suits including premises and retail liability, wrongful death, construction, and transportation.
