General Motors (GM) is being sued by the state of Texas.
The lawsuit accuses the automotive giant of collecting data on drivers’ habits and selling it to insurers without their consent. It alleges GM installed technology on over 14 million vehicles to gather detailed information about drivers’ behaviors.
Allegations of Unauthorized Data Collection
The lawsuit claims General Motors, which manufactures popular brands including Chevrolet, Cadillac, and Buick, used its OnStar diagnostics system to collect data from vehicles starting with the 2015 model year. The technology allegedly tracked various driving behaviors to create “driving scores.”
These scores were used to evaluate whether more than 1.8 million Texas drivers engaged in habits deemed “bad,” such as driving or braking too fast, steering sharply, neglecting seatbelt use, and driving late at night.
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Potential Implications for Insurance Premiums
While the lawsuit does not specify if the collected data was directly used to increase insurance premiums, it raises concerns about the possible impact on drivers’ costs.
The allegations suggest the information might have been sold to insurers and other companies. This could potentially influence insurance rates based on the driving scores generated from the collected data.
Legal Action and Privacy Concerns
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton stated the information emerged during an investigation into whether several carmakers were collecting and selling large amounts of data without drivers’ knowledge.
He said:
“Companies are using invasive technology to violate the rights of our citizens in unthinkable ways,”
“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.”
The lawsuit seeks several remedies, including the destruction of improperly collected data, compensation for affected drivers, a civil fine, and other legal measures to address the alleged violations.
