Indiana
Indiana sues GM, OnStar over data-selling practices
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indiana’s attorney general has sued General Motors and OnStar, accusing them of collecting and selling personal data to third parties with consent, just a couple of months after the Federal Trade Commission settled its complaint with the automaker and its subsidiary.
The lawsuit, announced Thursday from the office of Todd Rokita, follows similar ones that the attorney generals of Arkansas and Texas have filed. The Arkansas lawsuit says GM and OnStar sold data that included the geolocation data, the GM app usage data, and the driving behavior data of more than 100,000 residents of the Southern state.
Amid the states’ actions, multiple class action lawsuits have been filed against GM and OnStar over the same issues, arguing data was sold to LexisNexis without consent, potentially leading to increased insurance premiums.
OnStar sells a subscription-based communications system in GM vehicles that offers, among its services, a link to emergency services and roadside assistance when needed, Wi-Fi connectivity, turn-by-turn navigation, and remote diagnostics.
As lawsuit began piling up, GM ended its business with LexisNexis and Verisk. In an agreement reached with the Federal Trade Commission announced Jan. 16, GM also eliminated the Smart Driver program in all of its vehicles, and started a review of its privacy processes and policies. It also created a process to allow consumers to submit a privacy request to last for 20 years.
Indiana filed its 69-page lawsuit March 19 in Marion Superior Court 6, according to its time stamp. It alleged GM and OnStar violated the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act in selling telematics information — such as vehicle speed, hard braking events, and geolocation — from its Smart Driver system without consent. Then, third-party brokers used the data to create risk profiles and driving scores, which were sold to insurance companies. These companies, in turn, used the information to increase premiums or deny insurance coverage to consumers.
“Defendants profited from its data mining and data sharing activities to the detriment of the very customers to whom their telematics technology and associated programs were advertised to help,” the Indiana lawsuit says.
Indiana’s lawsuit also accused GM and OnStar of using deceptive “dark patterns” during the onboarding process to maximize consumer enrollment in their programs without fully disclosing privacy policies.
The state wants a jury trial and, if successful, seeks civil penalties of up to $5,500 for each violation of the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Act.
The lawsuit cites anonymous complaints from social media, reports from The New York Times, and other news sources. Indiana’s lawsuit does not say, though, how many complaints the state has received. However, in a news release issued Thursday, the Office of the Indiana Attorney General asks Hoosiers who believe they have been affected to file complaints online or by calling 800-382-5516.
Rokita, a Republican, said in a statement in a news release issued Thursday, “Everyone deserves transparency and honesty from the companies they do business with, especially when it comes to having their data protected. General Motors and OnStar turned a supposed safety feature into a way to make money, profiting off Indiana drivers without their knowledge.”
RIPLEY COUNTY, Ind. (WSBT) — A statewide Silver Alert has been issued for two young children in Indiana.
Police in Ripley County, southeast of Indianapolis, are looing for the children who may be siblings.
The first child is 3-year-old Aaliyah Buckingham.
She was last seen wearing a pink cat shirt and tie-dye shorts.
The younger child is 1-year-old Shane Buckingham, last seen in a red shirt and diaper.
Police think both are with 45-year-old Timothy Buckingham, who was last seen driving a brown GMC truck.
Timothy is described as a 6′ 3″ white man weighing 225 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.
Photo of Timothy Buckingham provided by Indiana State Police
Police have not confirmed the relationship of the three, or why the children are believed to be in danger.
Anyone who sees the three are asked to contact the nearest police department.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A firefighter for the Indianapolis Fire Department was sent to the hospital Wednesday after battling a fire at a vacant house.
According to a Facebook post made by IFD, the fire happened around 10:15 a.m. at a house on Bluff Rd. IFD says that there were several complications, including limited access to fire hydrants and “interior hoarder conditions” that IFD says was due to squatters.
The injured firefighter received “slight injury,” the Facebook post said.
It took over an hour and a half to get the fire under control, according to IFD, and another hour to put out all the remaining hot spots in the building.
According to IFD, the cause of the fire is currently unknown. Their Fire Investigations Unit is working on figuring out what caused the fire.
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