TomTom says it won't sell data to police, then changes its mind

Last week we reported that GPS maker TomTom was selling customer data to the police in the Netherlands who were then taking that data and using it to setup speed traps in order to increase their revenue. Harold Goddijn, CEO of the company, posted an apology letter on the TomTom website stating, “TomTom fully understands some of customers do not like this and we will amend the licensing conditions to stop this type of usage in near future.”

While this was seen as a small victory for privacy rights, it appears that not everyone at TomTom agrees. The Australian Financial Review is reporting that Chris Kearney, Vice President of marketing, is not ruling out selling the data to officials in Australia. According to Mr. Kearney, the company is preparing to distribute the data but is still waiting to hit a critical mass of information which should occur soon. The VP also dismisses the privacy fears because all users are required to opt-in and TomTom can only see the starting position, ending position, and the time taken in between.