Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once wrote, “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” Sometimes, a little light on a questionable practice brings an end to it.
General Motors told The New York Times on Friday that it has stopped selling data on how car owners drive to brokers that sell the data to insurance companies.
GM was one of several automakers that, Times reporting earlier this month exposed, sold info on how car owners drove to two data firms that then sell it to insurance companies.
Related: Your Car May Snitch On Your Driving, Raise Your Insurance Costs
What Automakers Have Been Selling
Many of today’s cars collect telematics data, including mileage, speed, and incidents of sudden acceleration or hard braking. Some GM cars collected the data through a program called OnStar Smart Driver. That program promised to coach drivers on how to drive for better fuel economy.
But “Some drivers said their insurance rates had increased as a result of the captured data, which GM shared with two brokers, LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Verisk.” The firms then sold the data to insurance companies, the Times explained.
Some GM owners told the Times they didn’t remember signing up for the program. Times reporters found documents suggesting dealers were paid bonuses for signing up owners. Some may have enrolled drivers without their consent.
GM spokeswoman Malorie Lucich told the Times last week that “OnStar Smart Driver customer data is no longer being shared with LexisNexis or Verisk.”
Some Other Automakers May Still Be Selling Data
GM, however, was not the only automaker selling data to LexisNexis or Verisk. Times reporters found that Kia, Mitsubishi, Hyundai, and both Honda and its Acura luxury arm all have similar programs. Subaru also sells data to LexisNexis, the Times has reported, but the company says it limits information collection to odometer readings only.
Privacy is a growing concern for car shoppers.
In an analysis last year, privacy researchers from a prominent tech watchdog group found “cars the official worst category of products for privacy ever reviewed.”
