The company secretly collected and sold data to insurers
Texas is accusing General Motors of unlawfully collecting private driving data on its customers and then selling the information to insurance companies, all without drivers' knowledge or consent. It's the first state to file such a complaint.
Companies are using invasive technology to violate the rights of our citizens in unthinkable ways," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said. "Millions of American drivers wanted to buy a car, not a comprehensive surveillance system that unlawfully records information about every drive they take and sells their data to any company willing to pay for it.
General Motors said it was "in discussions with the Attorney General's Office," in an emailed statement. "We havethe desire to protectconsumers' privacy."
GM has been under scrutiny since The New York Times revealed in March that the company was sharing information with data brokers who in turn provided the information to insurance companies.
Millions of drivers affected
Paxton said more than 1.5 million Texas drivers were affected by the scheme, which involved collecting mass amounts of data about drivers directly from the vehicles and then sold the information to third parties.
Our investigation revealed that General Motors has engaged in egregious business practices that violated Texans privacy and broke the law. We will hold them accountable, said Paxton.
General Motors used technology installed in most 2015 model year or newer GM vehicles to collect, record, analyze, and transmit highly detailed driving data about each time a driver used their vehicle, the lawsuit alleges.
The state says General Motors sold this information to several other companies, including to at least two companies for the purpose of generating Driving Scores about GMs customers and selling these scores to insurance companies.
General Motors allegedly deceived many of its customers when it compelled them to enroll in its products, including OnStar Smart Driver, as part of its vehicle onboarding process and told them that failing to enroll would result in the deactivation of their vehicles safety features.
Unbeknownst to customers, however, by enrolling in GMs products, they were agreeing to General Motors collection and sale of their data, the suit charges. Despite lengthy and convoluted disclosures, General Motors never informed its customers of its actual conductthe systematic collection and sale of their highly detailed driving data.
Photo Credit: Consumer Affairs News Department Images
Posted: 2024-08-14 18:03:31
