TomTom NZ weighs in on row over speeding data being sold to police

Sat-nav maker TomTom is facing a potential customer backlash following the revelation it sold information about speeding customers to Dutch police.

Based in Holland, TomTom is the world's largest maker of GPS systems, from standalone sat-nav systems to its popular iPhone app.

On message boards, customers have threatened to defect to rivals like Garmin and Navman.

In a statement overnight, the company sought to defuse the controversy.

Chief executive Harold Goddjn defended TomTom's practice fo collecting data from its customers' GPS units (those of which that support live traffic updates come with cellular transmitters; other units send data when they are connected to a PC for maps or software update).

“We are now aware that the police have used traffic information that you have helped to create to place speed cameras at dangerous locations where the average speed is higher than the legally allowed speed limit,” Mr Goddijn said. "It helps them to better understand where congestion takes place, where to build new roads and how to make roads safer." (Ironically, TomTom's software, like that of other GPS companies, flags the location of speed and red light camera, a feature open to obvious abuse.)

The crowd-sourcing also helped TomTom's software to calibrate the best routes for its users. 

U-turn
But at the same time, conceded that selling data about speedsters to police was not a popular move.

"I am not happy about that because our customers are not happy and we will prevent that type of use in the future,” the TomTom chief executive said.

No NZ data sold
TomTom's Asia Pacific mar-comms manager, Nick Saisanas, told NBR that no Australian or New Zealand customers' data had been sold to police, or made available externally in any fashion.

His company's products asked customers for permission to collect travel time information on an anonymous basis.

"The vast majority of you do, indeed grant us that permission. When you connect your TomTom to a computer we aggregate this information and use it for a variety of applications, most importantly to create high quality traffic information and to route you around traffic jams. 

A week of it
The TomTom revelation capped a rough week for location-based services. Yesterday, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs temporarily returned from medical leave to front on the controversy over iPhones tracking their owners' movements, whether location servcies were enabled or not.