The California Privacy Protection Agency has launched a probe into the privacy and data collection practices of connected automobiles.

This will be the first action of the agency which was created via a ballot initiative in 2020.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the investigation will examine the “growing amalgamation of data collected by smart vehicles and whether the business practices of the companies collecting that data comport with state law”.

California launched the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in 2018. This measure functions similarly to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and gives consumers more control over the personal information that businesses collect about them. The law was expanded by ballot initiative in 2020, and 10 other states have passed similar laws in the years since.

Many modern vehicles collect large swathes of data including information gathered from in-vehicle security and infotainment systems. The data has commercial potential, such as in the case of insurance where underwriters can set rates and evaluate risk based on driver data. Law enforcement agencies can also use the data gathered by vehicles to track the historical location of suspects.

The data collected by these systems and sensors however can expose significant amounts of information about a car’s owner – a factor which led the Chinese government to ban certain officials from owning or driving Tesla vehicles over fears of national security leaks.

In a statement, Ashkan Soltani, California Privacy Protection Agency executive director, said: “Modern vehicles are effectively connected computers on wheels. They’re able to collect a wealth of information via built in apps, sensors, and cameras, which can monitor people both inside and near the vehicle.”

The first-of-its-kind investigation in the US follows similar probes in Europe, where investigations have led to the introduction of strict privacy rules.

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