Image: © GM Corp.
What an eventful few weeks it’s been for OnStar. Last week, a story broke that the telematics service would continue collecting customer data even after the service was cancelled by the user. Worse, OnStar was requesting the right to sell that data (in anonymous, aggregate form) to third party companies, which prompted a public outcry. New York Senator Chuck Schumer even got involved, asking the FTC to probe the legality of OnStar’s data harvesting.
As of yesterday, OnStar has reversed it’s position on changes to terms and conditions. As before, canceling the service will terminate the collection of data from a specific vehicle, without any additional opting out required from the former user. OnStar President Linda Marshall expressed her regrets at the confusion or concern caused by the proposed changes, saying that the proposed amendments “did not satisfy our subscribers.”
OnStar isn’t ruling out keeping a data connection if the service is terminated, but customers would need to opt-in for such a service. On the positive side, OnStar tells customers that such a feature could provide critical data about vehicle recalls, natural disasters and other urgent bits of information. Customers would also get to specify what happens with any data collected, which is a significant change from the previously proposed terms and conditions.
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Kurt Ernst has been passionate about automobiles and driving nearly his entire life. His early years were shaped working in the family service station, though his real passion was auto racing. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Kurt spent a year club racing with the Sports Car Club of America, before focusing on a business career in marketing and project management. Later, his passion for writing and the automotive hobby found him freelancing for a variety of automotive news sites, including Automotive Addicts and Motor Authority, where his work was syndicated and appeared in several national publications. Recognized as an expert in the automotive field, Kurt joined Hemmings Motor News as an Associate Editor in 2013, and in the years since has progressed to Editor, Hemmings Daily; Managing Editor for Hemmings Motor News, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines, and the Hemmings Daily; and now, Managing Editor, Hemmings Auctions. Kurt was instrumental in organizing the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance from 2013-2019, and has served as a judge at this event and The Vintage Racing Stable Concours d’Elegance. A Skip Barber Racing School graduate and prolific writer, Ernst is also skilled in copyediting, project management, brand development, and public relations.
