ST. LOUIS – This is a story every driver needs to hear. Automakers are accused of tracking and selling your driving data to insurance companies without proper consent. Some drivers allege their auto insurance went up because of it.
Brant McDonald is a hardworking farmer from Valdosta, Georgia, who was thrilled to have a new Chevy truck.
“I bought the truck in September 2023. I bought it over the phone, and it showed up at my house,” he said.
Several months later, McDonald says he read national reporting accusing General Motors and other automakers of selling data about the driving behavior of millions of people to insurance companies. Online, he found a community of drivers on Reddit who said their driving data was tracked and sold.
That’s where FOX 2 found McDonald and asked him to be a part of this story. Some drivers in the forum allege their data was recorded without their knowledge or consent and that their insurance rates went up because of it. McDonald says he requested a consumer disclosure report from global data broker LexisNexis.
“The total report is somewhere around 325 to 350 pages, and over 300 pages of that are just my driving history in that short period of time,” he said.
McDonald shared his report with FOX 2. In the report, one particular trip from November 2023 recorded one acceleration and three hard brake events. It clearly shows General Motors was the source of the driving record.
“I never imagined that every trip, every turn, every time I press the gas, press the brake, that someone is looking over my shoulder and taking note of that and sending it to the insurance company,” McDonald said. “That’s nothing I would ever agree to.”
Since April, seven class action lawsuits have been filed against General Motors, OnStar, and data brokers LexisNexis and Verisk Analytics. The suits have now been consolidated in a Georgia federal court. The suits accuse GM of partnering with data brokers to collect driving data without proper consent using OnStar Smart Driver technology. It’s alleged the information was sold to auto insurance companies, resulting in higher premiums for some drivers.
In July, Senators Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate what they called the invasive data privacy practices of automakers. In addition to GM, their letter alleged Honda and Hyundai used deceptive data practices.
In August, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued GM and OnStar, accusing the companies of violating Texas consumer law.
“I have a right to my private data and stealing my data is stealing,” attorney Jer Nixon, Simon Law Firm, said.
Nixon said he’s monitoring the cases.
“If these companies, without adequate notice, are able to not only share but sell this data for profit to third parties, it just opens a door that, you know, we don’t want to go down that road,” he said.
Nixon hopes these lawsuits provide consumers with more transparency.
“Private lawsuits do change companies’ behaviors, and this is certainly an example of one where a court could order that these companies are not allowed to sell or share or use this data as they are,” he said.
For now, it’s on consumers to control their privacy. Andrea Amico founded Privacy4Cars. He says VehiclePrivacyReport.com is a beneficial starting place for drivers.
“They just enter the VIN, and it will tell them in simple terms, with graphics and icons that they can click on, what type of data the manufacturer says the vehicle can collect, what they say they can do with this data, selling and sharing,” Amico said.
In a news release, General Motors announced it discontinued OnStar Smart Driver, terminating its partnerships with LexisNexis and Verisk. The company said it would “unenroll all customers” and was “working on enhanced privacy controls aimed at greater transparency.”
“The agent I spoke with asked me, ‘Why you are canceling?’ I said, ‘Because I just recently found out you’re selling my data.’ I don’t want to be a part of that,” McDonald said.
McDonald is still shocked by what he says the OnStar agent said next.
“She said, ‘Even if you turn it off, we can still track you. We can still see what you’re doing,’” he said.
“Ending the phone call, she says to me, ‘I hope you don’t find yourself in a situation where you need us and we’re not there. I hope you can stay safe out there on the roads. Have a good day.’ I was pretty taken back by that statement.”
McDonald tells us his auto insurance didn’t go up and he’s not involved in any of the lawsuits against GM, but he won’t forget this experience the next time he shops for a truck.
“It makes me not want to buy another GM vehicle. And again, maybe there’s other car manufacturers doing it, but that’s the kind of thing that would make me go to another brand,” he said.
In a statement, General Motors told FOX 2, “When it comes to privacy, keeping our customers’ data safe is a top priority for us. Under the leadership of our new Chief Privacy Officer, we’ve updated our privacy policy to enhance the clarity and accessibility of our policies and controls.”
