General Motors drivers ‘hit with unfair fees & emotional blackmail’ after fitted tracker device sparks privacy fears

GENERAL Motors faces legal trouble for allegedly selling driver data without consent.

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers has accused the brand of “emotional blackmail” and privacy concerns related to tracker devices.

Getty

Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers says GM has been using tracker devices and then selling recorded driver data[/caption]

Getty

The US brand has been accused of tracking driving speeds, braking patterns, geolocation and seatbelt usage[/caption]

According to the Nebraska Examiner, this practice allegedly led to unfair fees, such as increased insurance rates.

The lawsuit, filed in Lancaster County District Court, accuses GM and its subsidiary OnStar of harvesting data and selling it off.

These include driving speeds, braking patterns, geolocation and seatbelt usage – all then allegedly sold to third-party companies, including insurance providers.

This, in turn, allegedly resulted in increased insurance rates or even policy cancellations for some drivers.

Speaking to reporters, Hilgers said: “We know that you can actually do what these insurance companies and what companies like GM want to do legally, through consent, through notice, through disclosures.

“It’s not what they did here.”

The lawsuit added that GM failed to obtain clear consent from drivers and used misleading tactics to enroll them in data-collecting programs.

It also claimed that they engaged in generally deceptive practices.

Hilgers described some of GM’s behavior as “emotional blackmail”, with one example being that they suggested OnStar services were necessary for safety.

GM has been partnering with insurance companies to collect driver data since 2005, while Hilgers says that GM’s newer vehicles include data-collection devices by default – making explicit consent unnecessary.

One striking stat is that GM has 54 dealerships in Nebraska and does business with 19 Nebraska suppliers, with 16 Nebraska-based employees.

This makes it hard to determine how many Nebraskans were impacted over the past 10 years – although the lawsuit claims GM delivered nearly 19,000 vehicles to the state in 2023 alone.

The Nebraska lawsuit reportedly seeks civil penalties, restitution for affected consumers, a permanent ban on such practices and coverage of legal fees.

In response, GM said they are committed to consumer privacy and will review the lawsuit.

The lawsuit mirrors others, including one by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in August and a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation earlier this year.

Indeed, the FTC found GM collected data as frequently as every three seconds – although they have not finalized its settlement with the company.

GM added that they have since ended the OnStar Smart Driver program and have stopped data sharing with certain third parties.

Hilgers added that the state will hold large corporations, like GM, accountable for misleading practices that harm Nebraskans.