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General Motors was allegedly compensated for the deals with lump-sum payments and royalties, some worth millions of dollars.
General Motors (GM) collected and sold to insurance companies the private driving data of more than 1.5 million Texans, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has alleged in a new lawsuit.
Vehicles produced by GM from 2015 or later have technology marketed for the operability convenience and safety of its product, known as the “OnStar” feature. But that technology also comes with tracking capabilities.
“[F]or years, Defendants General Motors and its subsidiary, OnStar LLC have unlawfully collected, used, and sold the Driving Data it obtained through this technology,” the lawsuit alleges, accusing the company of deceptive trade practices. The amount of data collected and sold, according to the suit, is quite extensive.
“The Driving Data collected and sold by General Motors included data from over 14 million of its vehicles, and the data of more than 1.8 million Texans. That Driving Data consisted of the date, start time, end time, vehicle speed, driver and passenger seatbelt status, and distance driven each time a customer drove their GM vehicle. The Driving Data also consisted of information about customers’ use of other GM products, including data collected from General Motors’ mobile apps.”
GM’s largest assembly plant in the U.S. operates in Arlington and produces between 20,000 and and 30,000 vehicles per month with the help of 5,500 workers.
Through agreements, the lawsuit adds, GM stored the driving data in a “telematics exchange” that insurance companies accessed.
“After buying a license, an Insurer could access the respective Driving Scores of the more than 16 million customers whose data General Motors sold,” the petition reads. “Unbeknownst to these customers, Insurers could — and did — use these scores and data to make significant decisions that impacted customers including monthly premium increases, dropped coverage, or coverage denials.”
For the access, GM was compensated with lump-sum payments and royalties worth “millions.” One agreement with the British-based vehicle data company Wejo — which then sold the data onto others — was valued at $70 million.
The OAG announced an investigation into the allegations against more than one vehicle manufacturer back in June, and this is the first suit to stem from that investigation.
“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,” Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a release.
“Companies are using invasive technology to violate the rights of our citizens in unthinkable ways. 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.”
The disclosure statements provided to customers from GM were “confusing and highly misleading,” the petition asserted.
“[GM] may use [customers’] information to develop, enhance, provide, service, maintain, and improve the safety, security, and quality of [its] products, programs, and services, and for product research and marketing,” read one disclosure statement from the company.
The suit was filed in Montgomery County and seeks monetary relief of more than $1,000,000.
A GM spokesperson told The Texan, "We’ve been in discussions with the Attorney General’s office and are reviewing the complaint. We share the desire to protect consumers’ privacy."