Leftlane reported last week that General Motors’ OnStar had made a change to its Terms of Service that had many up in arms – now you can add a U.S. Senator to that list.
After OnStar made a change to its ToS that allowed the service provider to continue tracking customer data, including location, travel routes and speeds even after canceling the service, New York Senator Chuck Schumer took it upon himself to contact the Federal Trade Commission today and request an investigation into the legality of the policy, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“By tracking drivers even after they’ve cancelled their service, OnStar is attempting one of the most brazen invasions of privacy in recent memory,” said Schumer. “I urge OnStar to abandon this policy and for FTC to immediately launch a full investigation to determine whether the company’s actions constitute an unfair trade practice.”
Many are concerned that OnStar will sell customer data to local law enforcement agencies or third parties interested in the data for sales concerns. GM promises that if sold, the data would be bundled and lack personal information or identifiers.
So far, Onstar’s response to the firestorm of critcism and concern has largely been to apologize for “any confusion” they may have created with the policy change, but at least so far GM’s premium service provider shows no signs of backing down on the changes.
OnStar has clarified, however, that should a customer personally contact the firm and request they not be tracked, their request will be honored.
References
1.’Onstar responds…’ view
