TomTom Sold Data to Cops, Who Set Up Speed Traps

Company promises to improve data sharing rules
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted May 4, 2011 2:27 PM CDT
Updated May 7, 2011 7:00 PM CDT

GPS maker TomTom is enduring a wave of negative publicity after data it collected on drivers ended up in the hands of Dutch police, who used it to set up speed traps, reports Consumer Reports. The company promises to improve its data-sharing polices and says this kind of thing won't happen again, notes the Wall Street Journal. (See the CEO's video in the gallery.)

TomTom sells the data it collects to governments, a revenue source that isn't surprising given the declining use of stand-alone GPS devices in the age of smartphones, notes Consumer Reports. Still, the Dutch police development was "a sobering experience," says CEO Harold Goddijn. He insisted, though, that the company complies with "strict privacy laws." (More TomTom stories.)

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