Let’s say you are done with High School and you move away to college. Now, even though you have moved out the house; you mother comes to check up on you anyway. That is the same crazy case with OnStar. OnStar issued a privacy notice informing customers that it would continue to collect data on vehicles still connected to its servers, even for those who have already canceled their subscriptions.
Privacy advocates in the Senate, including Chris Coons, Al Franken and, most recently, Charles Schumer, who wrote a letter to the FTC yesterday calling for an investigation into what he sees as a bold violation of consumer rights. “By tracking drivers even after they’ve canceled their service, OnStar is attempting one of the most brazen invasions of privacy in recent memory,” the New York Senator said. “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.”
OnStar insists that the only people who could have access to these data are “law enforcement or other public safety officials, credit card processors and/or third parties joint marketing initiatives.” Joanne Finnor, vice president of subscriber services, also said that OnStar reserves the right to sell this information to third parties.
Joanne Finnor, vice president of subscriber services goes on to say that “former customers, moreover, can always disconnect their vehicle by contacting an OnStar.” So even though I left something I still have to go and opt-out of the feature if they’ve already discontinued. So to sum it up. Even if you leave OnStar you need to call and opt out of being tracked or your data may be sold to whoever they wish.
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