Is Michigan Paving The Way For Another Mass Surveillance Tool?

Michigan will test counting drivers’ miles through vehicle GPS and smartphones — even though more than 30% of residents told the state they worry about privacy.

The six-month pilot launches in February 2027 with 1,000 volunteers, Fox 17 reported. It will test odometer readings, in-vehicle telematics, a plug-in device and a smartphone app, according to minutes from an Aug. 24 meeting of the Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) technical advisory committee.

GPS “can get you within two meters reliably today,” John Peracchio, a State Transportation Commission appointee helping design the pilot, said in a Feb. 4 interview with WDIV. MDOT’s own 2024 survey of 19,160 residents found that more than 30% were worried about data privacy and that 17% would refuse to provide mileage data, according to the department’s report.

“Michigan families are already struggling to afford everyday life, and the last thing they need is state government tracking their every move just to take more of their hard-earned money,” Michigan Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Instead of coming up with new ways to reach into drivers’ pockets and invade their privacy, Democrats need to end their corporate welfare and root out wasteful spending to fix our roads.”

MDOT says on its website that participation in the pilot is voluntary and “no changes are planned at this time.” The department says lawmakers would have to pass new legislation before the state could impose a permanent mileage charge.

MDOT, Peracchio, and Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office did not respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment. Whitmer leaves office on Jan. 1, a month before the pilot begins.

Drivers can choose whether to share location data with an insurer or automaker and can leave if the company breaks their trust, James Czerniawski, head of emerging technology policy at the Consumer Choice Center, told the DCNF. He added that a state collecting the same data to bill for road use amounts to “a government monopoly with enforcement powers.”

“You can’t swap providers when driving on a public road,” Czerniawski stressed.

Michigan drivers should ask whether the telematics option would collect speed or braking data in addition to location, Czerniawski said. They should also ask whether third parties or law enforcement could access the data, how long it would be stored and whether participation would remain voluntary if the state expanded the program.