OnStar will now be able to sell personal information on its subscribers and even non-subscribers to the highest bidders. This has the makings of a huge privacy violation.
Oh, Big Brother, what are you doing?
We've just learned through Twitter that a blogger recently got an email from the company about their new terms and conditions. And reading it was like opening a Pandora's box.
Starting this December, OnStar will indeed have the ability to sell your personal GPS location, speed, seatbelt usage and other information to third parties (including law enforcement) for any ''legitimate'' reason.
In the official document, OnStar explains that the information ''can no longer be traced to you or your vehicle'' once it becomes anonymous – and that is perfectly legal.
Scary repercussions
As a result, the police could monitor speeding drivers all the way to their house or workplace and set speed traps that will increase city/state revenues.
Meanwhile, shrewd or simply zealous insurance companies could record speeding acts and omissions to wear a seatbelt to justify premium hikes... even without a claim or crash report.
Corporations such as Wal-Mart could send alerts when drivers near one of their stores, employers could track your every move when you take a day off, and marketing firms could spam you.
Even worse, OnStar subscribers could see their information wind up in the hands of car thieves, who will look for the times your vehicle is left unattended to steal it.
Collecting info even after you unsubscribe
The new terms and conditions stipulate that OnStar will continue collecting and selling this personal information even after you cancel your service, unless you specifically shut down the data connection to the vehicle after cancelling.
According to the astute blogger, it takes up to 10 days to have the account fully cancelled, and another 14 days for the data connection to be shut down, which he immediately asked OnStar to do. However, he still has ''no guarantee the company did what they were supposed to''.
GM, which has the exclusive rights to OnStar for its Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac and Buick products, denied everything after being contacted about this outrageous story.
Oh, Big Brother, what are you doing?
We've just learned through Twitter that a blogger recently got an email from the company about their new terms and conditions. And reading it was like opening a Pandora's box.
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| Photo: General Motors |
Starting this December, OnStar will indeed have the ability to sell your personal GPS location, speed, seatbelt usage and other information to third parties (including law enforcement) for any ''legitimate'' reason.
In the official document, OnStar explains that the information ''can no longer be traced to you or your vehicle'' once it becomes anonymous – and that is perfectly legal.
Scary repercussions
As a result, the police could monitor speeding drivers all the way to their house or workplace and set speed traps that will increase city/state revenues.
Meanwhile, shrewd or simply zealous insurance companies could record speeding acts and omissions to wear a seatbelt to justify premium hikes... even without a claim or crash report.
Corporations such as Wal-Mart could send alerts when drivers near one of their stores, employers could track your every move when you take a day off, and marketing firms could spam you.
Even worse, OnStar subscribers could see their information wind up in the hands of car thieves, who will look for the times your vehicle is left unattended to steal it.
Collecting info even after you unsubscribe
The new terms and conditions stipulate that OnStar will continue collecting and selling this personal information even after you cancel your service, unless you specifically shut down the data connection to the vehicle after cancelling.
According to the astute blogger, it takes up to 10 days to have the account fully cancelled, and another 14 days for the data connection to be shut down, which he immediately asked OnStar to do. However, he still has ''no guarantee the company did what they were supposed to''.
GM, which has the exclusive rights to OnStar for its Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac and Buick products, denied everything after being contacted about this outrageous story.