Car manufacturers are facing accusations of racism over driver safety technology that critics say may discriminate against Asian motorists. The concerns come as the federal government moves to crack down on automakers that sell biometric data to outside parties, including insurance companies.
The issue was thrust into the spotlight after a viral video spread online showing a man of Asian descent getting a notification from the new high-tech safety system that his eyes were closed, a feature intended to detect driver drowsiness.
However, when the camera turned from the dashboard of what appeared to be a Lexus, it showed the driver clearly awake, watching the road and travelling safely at 63mph.
The video has not been independently verified. Still, complaints about the technology date back to its introduction, with numerous users raising similar concerns on online forums.
Recently, Congress required safety systems, including infrared cameras, to be introduced in all new US vehicles in an effort to reduce distracted and impaired driving.
Beyond detecting possible drowsiness, some manufacturers’ driver-monitoring systems record how sharply motorists brake, how quickly they accelerate, how they take turns and other driving behavior.
Asian drivers have reported comparable problems with eye-openness detection in other systems, including Chinese-made XPeng vehicles. In 2022, CarScoops reported that drivers experienced issues similar to those alleged by the Lexus motorist.
One Weibo blogger, known online as @DerekTLM, said his vehicle repeatedly identified him as distracted and deducted his “smart driving points.” Drivers begin each year with 100 points and lose them for poor driving behavior.
An Asian man was reportedly driving at 63mph on a highway when he received a notification from what appeared to be a Lexus warning that his eyes were closed
The man’s eyes appeared fully open as he drove safely along the road
“I really just have small eyes, not fallen asleep while driving!” he said.
While Americans don’t have to contend with China’s overt social credit scores, the data has been used to generate driver safety profiles that insurance companies have relied on to justify increases to the cost of premiums.
Modern car monitoring systems alert drivers when they’re violating speed limits, but the new infrared dashboard cameras constantly monitor eye openness, reportedly based on a predetermined width, along with facial positioning, to alert a driver who may be falling asleep behind the wheel.
And the glitchy systems may become more commonplace, as the HALT Drunk Driving Act passed in 2021.
It requires all new vehicles to meet a certain standard for drunk and impaired driving prevention. Auto companies would be required to have technology that ‘passively’ detects impaired driving and prevent the vehicle from operating.
Infrared cameras could be one way to enforce it, among other things.
However, the implementation is being administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which said this year that it has still yet to create the standard for the technology or a deadline for its rollout.
The organization has also told Congress there is not currently a commercially available driving alcohol impairment detection system that meets the law’s requirements.
The car uses infrared cameras to track movement, from eye positions to openness (stock image)
It is unclear when the full slate of safety features will be required in all new US cars, especially as drivers are quickly finding bugs in the systems for the distracted driving monitoring that are already on the market.
On a Lexus forum, many drivers complained that the feature constantly gave alerts, especially when wearing sunglasses.
Lexus smart vehicles automatically collect data on its users, even if they’re unaware. Some information it collects is driving data, such as speeding; vehicle health, and voice recordings, if one has their phone linked to their cars, its website read.
Users can opt out of the program, however, it will affect their ability to use other online connected features.
‘Declining the Vehicle Connectivity Consent will turn off all data transmission on your vehicle, and you will no longer have access to Connected Services, even if these services were included as part of your vehicle purchase,’ its website read.
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However, unlike other car manufacturers, Lexus says it does not send a driver’s data to third parties, like LexisNexis, which helps car insurance companies figure out rates, without user consent.
‘Unless we obtain your consent, we will not provide your Driving Data to other parties for their own purposes,’ Lexus’ website reads.
In 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that General Motors (GM) did not adequately inform their customers that their data was being shared with third parties, like LexisNexis. The company was banned from sharing data with brokers for five years, The New York Times reported.
Lexus is among many car brands that offer services that track customer data (stock image)
‘GM monitored and sold people’s precise geolocation data and driver behavior information, sometimes as often as every three seconds,’ Lina Khan, the former FTC chair, said.
‘With this action, the FTC is safeguarding Americans’ privacy and protecting people from unchecked surveillance.’
The FTC found that many drivers who enrolled were not clearly informed about the programs and were oftentimes signed up at dealerships.
The data was collected by GM drivers using OnStar Connected Services, with several customers telling The Times their insurance skyrocketed or they were denied after starting the service.
Kenn Dahl, of New York, saw his insurance go up by 21 percent in 2022. When he asked why, one insurance agent told him to pull his LexisNexis report, he told The Times.
The 258-page document stunned him. It had 130 pages alone just describing where he and his wife drove their Chevrolet Bolt over the course of 640 trips.
It reported every time either of them had braked hard and how far they drove, among other data points, he told The Times.
GM settled with the FTC over selling data gathered from OnStar to third parties, like LexisNexis
It also showed eight insurance companies had requested information from the company while he was shopping around for new insurance.
‘It felt like a betrayal,’ he told The Times. ‘They’re taking information that I didn’t realize was going to be shared and screwing with our insurance.’
A Cadillac driver, who was not identified, had to obtain insurance through a private broker after he was denied by seven companies, The Times reported.
Like Dahl, he was also advised to pull his LexisNexis report. Six months of his driving had been recorded on his car, showing many instances of hard braking and accelerating.
The Cadillac driver had also enrolled in OnStar, The Times reported.
The FTC said enrolling in the program was too confusing for consumers. Under the settlement agreement, GM had to make it easier for drivers to turn off tracking and to be able to delete their data.
GM said it ended the program due to ‘customer feedback,’ The Times reported.
GM stopped sharing data with LexisNexis after a 2024 investigation by The Times.
Mozilla, which makes the Firefox browser, analyzed 25 car brands in 2023 and found that none of them meet the privacy and security standards Mozilla uses for its own brand.
It found car companies were collecting data on weight, race, age and health.
Nineteen of the 25 companies also said they would sell consumer data, but not to whom it would go to. It is unclear if customers were well aware that the companies were collecting and selling data.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Lexus, GM, and LexisNexis for comment.