Somewhere in Canberra, government lawyers are trying to work out exactly what a Toyota RAV4 knows about the person driving it, who else has seen that information, and whether anyone actually agreed to any of it. Strip away the regulatory language, and that is what a new investigation into Toyota and Hyundai actually amounts to. American readers should recognize the shape of this story immediately, because U.S. regulators already asked General Motors the same question. The answer was ugly enough to end in a five-year federal ban. Australia’s Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has opened a formal investigation into how Toyota and Hyundai collect, use, and obtain consent for the personal data generated by their connected-car systems, according to Choice, the Australian consumer group that first reported it. Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind is leading the probe, after telling Parliament earlier this year that her office was reviewing two brands headquartered in Asia without naming them at the time. Toyota has been Australia’s best-selling brand for more than two decades. Hyundai, marking 40 years in the market this month, finished fifth in 2025. Neither is a boutique player, and that’s exactly why this case matters outside Australia. The connected-car platforms under review are largely the same ones sold in the United States, the United Kingdom, and everywhere else the two brands do business. Three Questions, Eighteen Months The investigation is expected to run as long as 18 months and will center on three specific questions: whether the automakers are collecting more personal information than their vehicles and connected services actually require, whether that data is being shared with third parties such as marketing partners without an owner’s consent, and whether either company is properly deleting or de-identifying data once it’s no longer needed. Toyota declined to comment directly on the