By Zamone Perez
Virginia News Connection
Insurance companies typically raise rates because of increased claims or risk – but what if they could raise them based on information recorded by your car?
That’s what the Federal Trade Commission says happened to drivers of General Motors vehicles with the OnStar Smart Driver feature. Now the commission has ordered the data transfers stopped.
Lena Cohen, a staff technologist for the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, said some drivers had no idea they’d enrolled in this feature because car salespeople signed them up without telling them to get an enrollment bonus.
“But even drivers who did realize they’d signed up for these OnStar features didn’t realize the extent of the data they were sharing and what that data was being used for,” she said.
GM says it has shut down the Smart Driver program, unenrolled all users and cut ties with data brokers LexisNexis and Verisk. Under the FTC order, GM and OnStar are barred for five years from sharing certain data with consumer reporting agencies. For the next 20 years, the company must get clear consent before collecting or sharing vehicle data, give drivers access to their information and allow them to opt out or delete it.
Cohen urged Congress to pass strong data privacy laws that apply to all car companies.
“It’s too easy for companies to bury their data collection and sharing practices in long terms of service that no one actually reads,” she said. “And all car makers should be forced to get people’s explicit consent before engaging in invasive data-sharing practices like these.
You can find out what data your car is set up to collect at vehicleprivacyreport.com. It’s also possible to request a report from Lexis Nexis and Verisk to see what information they have on you.
