While some people seem apathetic about automakers selling driver data to insurance companies, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton isn’t taking it sitting down. His office filed suit against General Motors for this practice on August 13, but it likely won’t be the last automaker to face legal action from the Lone Star State.
They say you don’t want to mess with Texas and GM might soon find out why. AG Paxton’s office started an investigation into this common industry practice back in June. With evidence collected and research into case law, his team must feel confident in moving forward with a lawsuit.
While the collecting and selling of data about how much you drive, along with braking, acceleration, and speed data has been common in the auto industry for years, it was a recent report from The New York Times focusing on GM that seemed to really make people stand up and notice.
Insurance providers will then buy the data, which is tabulated in to “driving scores” and use that to determine how much to charge people for coverage. All this has allegedly been done without the knowledge or consent of vehicle owners.
Some people seem to think this isn’t a big deal since supposedly if you aren’t doing anything wrong you have nothing to fear. It seems the contention is legal consent versus automakers just collecting and selling the data.
With how connected modern cars are, data privacy has been a concern for some time. It’s great that the topic is receiving more attention and there’s pushback on how automakers treat the sensitive information.
We’ll see if other states’ attorney generals hop on the bandwagon and also sue GM and other automakers for collecting and selling driver’s data. While some consumers are apathetic about the practice, we think enough are concerned that such a move not only would be moral but also popular.
Image via Chevrolet
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