General Motors sued by US state over scary privacy invasion

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As cars become more technologically advanced, the amount of data they collect about their drivers is becoming downright dystopian.

Unlike tech companies that harvest the data from your digital footprint, car companies are harvesting your physical data.

Mozilla Foundation's Privacy Not Included data privacy initiative calls modern cars a "privacy nightmare on wheels."

The firm's research shows that popular brands like BMW, Ford, Toyota, Tesla, Kia, and Subaru collect such intimate data as sexual activity, race, facial expressions, weight, health, and genetic information, along with the normal type of driver data one would expect, like GPS data.

Mozilla calls Nissan the worst offender because its privacy policy admits that the car will collect sexual activity, health diagnosis, and genetic data. Still, it doesn't specify how the vehicle does all of that.

Other bad offenders include Toyota and its 12 different privacy policy documents, Kia, whose privacy policy gives them the right to collect information about your "sex life."

What happens to this data?

It's often, but not always, sold to interested third parties, whether advertisers or car insurers looking to raise rates.

Car data monetization is already big business, but analysts at McKinsey estimate the industry will grow to $750 billion by 2030.

Nebraska files a lawsuit against General Motors over driver data collection
Though the PNI report did not mention General Motors among the worst data privacy offenders, the state of Nebraska is suing over the company's OnStar driver assistance tool.

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hlgers sued General Motors for allegedly collecting and selling driver data to third parties without their consent.

"Thousands of Nebraskans have been driving GM vehicles that, unknown to them, surveil and track their vehicle usage data, which GM then sells for profit," the lawsuit states.

"Nebraska law requires companies to be honest with consumers about how their products and services collect, use, and sell customer data. GM violated that fundamental duty to deal honestly in Nebraska by selling vehicles designed to surveil and track consumers’ use of GM vehicles for the purpose of profiting off the invasion of privacy of unsuspecting vehicle owners."

The lawsuit alleges that since at least 2015, OnStar has been recording, analyzing, and transmitting highly specific vehicle usage data. GM then sells that data without the customers' informed consent, violating Nebraska law.

GM sold data from over 14 million vehicles, including information about date, start time, end time, vehicle speed, driver and passenger seatbelt status, and distance driven in each instance of a consumer using his or her GM vehicle.

GM entered into third-party agreements to create databases known as "telematics exchanges," which allowed them to use the data and assign a personally identifiable "Driving Score."

The lawsuit claims that third parties, such as insurance companies, used the exchanges to punish certain customers by denying them coverage or raising rates.

"GM’s deceptive and unlawful tactics included overwhelming and misleading vehicle purchasers (or lessees) with pages of deceptive, inconspicuous, and materially misleading disclosures about OnStar products, including product descriptions and privacy policies that failed to adequately disclose how GM would use its customers’ Driving Data," the lawsuit states.

According to the Detroit Free Press, GM generated nearly $2 billion from OnStar in fiscal 2021, with EBIT margins above 70%.

General Motors did not immediately return a request for comment.

Car tech is incredibly invasive in most modern vehicles
Modern cars are rolling surveillance machines, and car companies don't make it easy to opt out of the matrix.

Tesla, for instance, is considered one of the most technologically advanced passenger cars in the world. Still, PNI notes that the company itself says that opting out of certain data collection programs may result in your vehicle suffering from reduced functionality, serious damage, or inoperability.

“Many people think of their car as a private space — somewhere to call your doctor, have a personal conversation with your kid on the way to school, cry your eyes out over a break-up, or drive places you might not want the world to know about," said Jen Caltrider, Privacy Not Included program director.

"But that perception no longer matches reality. All new cars today are privacy nightmares on wheels that collect huge amounts of personal information."