The attorney general for the state of Texas is suing General Motors for allegedly doing what many manufacturers have been doing for a long time, reports CNN. More specificall, the state has accused the carmaker of having “illegally collected and sold drivers’ data to insurance companies without their consent or knowledge.” (In this author’s opinion, it’s about time.)
Remember when insurance companies started pitching you the idea you could lower your rates if you just let them put a dongle in your car that would track your excellent driving habits? It would only monitor, y’know, your speed, any sudden braking or acceleration, or how fast you took a corner. Drive like a saint, and your new insurance rate would reflect that. Drive like you’ve just robbed a bank, and, well, not to worry—that won’t increase your rates, it’ll just leave them where they are.
It was about 15 years ago when the companies introduced these squeal-boxes, and many of us knew then there was no way our rates would not be impacted negatively. Zero. If they’re saving money in one place, they’re making it in another. The result? “[D]rivers are historically reluctant to participate in these programs,” wrote rival automaker Ford in a patent application. Instead, “car companies are collecting information directly from internet-connected vehicles for use by the insurance industry,” reports the New York Times.
Back in March of this year, General Motors was outed as a practitioner of the above, after the release of a consumer disclosure report requested by a Chevrolet Bolt EV owner who saw his car insurance spike and didn’t know why. Turns out the manufacturer was selling the data to LexisNexis, “a New York-based global data broker with a ‘Risk Solutions’ division that caters to the auto insurance industry.”
Subsequently, dozens of lawsuits were filed by GM owners, and the company stopped selling data to LexisNexis. But many other manufacturers are still collecting and selling your online in-car information.
Texas has gone so far as to claim GM “deceived” its customers in the state by encouraging them to enrol in programs such as OnStar Smart Driver. But by agreeing to join these programs, customers also unknowingly agreed to the collection and sale of their data. “Despite lengthy and convoluted disclosures, General Motors never informed its customers of its actual conduct—the systematic collection and sale of their highly detailed driving data,” the AG’s office said in a statement.
As usual, laws need to catch up to technology. States are implementing their own guidelines, and Canada should be following suit. If you don’t drive a General Motors product, don’t think this isn’t about you. The Mozilla Foundation, a world leader in privacy issues, last year called the auto industry a “privacy nightmare on wheels.” It tested 25 car brands in terms of how they treated customer privacy, and all failed. The information collected from unwitting drivers included “sexual activity, facial expressions, and genetic and health information.”
Go, Texas.
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