We hear about stories regularly. Selling companies your Important Personal Information — including your location data – to the highest bidder. The latest culprit appears to be General Motors.
The Federal Trade Commission has accused GM. Star – GM's subscription-based vehicle Safety and security system – Collecting and selling drivers' precise geolocation data and driver behavior data from millions of vehicles without adequately informing consumers.
Agency on Thursday. A proposed order was issued. The company is prohibited from selling such information to consumer reporting agencies for five years.
In his complaint, The FTC alleged that Onstar used a “misleading enrollment process” to get consumers to sign up for Onstar. Some users have reported that they didn't know they had signed up for Onstar's Smart Driver feature, which promises to use driver data to help improve their vehicle's performance and encourage safer driving.
“GM sold people's precise geolocation data and driver behavior data, sometimes every three seconds,” FTC Chairwoman Lina M. Khan said in a statement.
This is the latest issue to plague the automaker in recent weeks. last month GM pulled the plug. GM has funded its autonomous vehicle unit Cruise, a company that has invested more than $10 billion.
Thursday's settlement with the FTC follows. An investigation by The New York Times' Kashmir HillGM's hard braking; GM, which was found to be collecting detailed information about its customers' driving habits, including late-night driving and speeding, was selling the records to insurance companies and third-party data brokers. As a result, drivers may see higher insurance premiums, but may not know why.
Misuse of customer information goes beyond increased insurance premiums. A person's geolocation data can reveal the most intimate details of a person's life, including where they live and work; You can also indicate whether you are visiting a medical facility or a place of worship. in hand Location data puts abortionists across the country at serious risk.
As part of the FTC's proposed order — if upheld by a court — GM and Onstar would be barred from disclosing data to consumer reporting agencies and would also be required to obtain express approval from consumers before collecting vehicle data in the future. Automakers will be required to allow customers to access and delete their data, as well as limit the collection of data from their vehicles.
As this is still only a proposed order; The agreement will be subject to a 30-day public comment period before the final ruling takes effect.
TechCrunch has reached out to GM and the FTC for more information and will update if we hear back.