Is Your GM Truck or SUV “Spying” On You?

[AbleGuy]

How private do you think the data on your driving habits is, that’s automatically being recorded by the computer in your newer rig?

You might remember hearing once or twice that… “driving was a privilege, not a right, and that a state could revoke a license as quickly as it issued it if you broke the law. (But) that often meant a police officer had to catch you breaking the law and issue you a ticket, which you could challenge in court in hopes of reducing it to a lesser offense.”

“Now (though), your car can log every (driving) infraction you commit, intentional or not, and transmit that data to an automaker that could then sell it to your insurance company, potentially raising your rates, with no citation needed or ability to plead down to a lesser charge.”

As the author of this comment and the below article points out, “If all (your driving behavior) data is being collected, sold, and used against you, what’s the point of driving at all?


So if this right to driving privacy topic interests you, here’s some more on a concerning lawsuit filed against GM and others regarding the use of your data recorder information:


“The battle over who owns and controls your driving data is being fought in court. General Motors is facing a multi-district lawsuit that claims the Detroit-based automaker allegedly violated its customers’s privacy by collecting and selling their driving information without proper consent. However, GM is arguing it did not violate their privacy because “driving a vehicle—which necessarily involves conduct that takes place on public roads—cannot form the basis for any privacy-based claim.”

Did you know that this use of your driving data was (allegedly) going on? How do you feel about that argument?

Read on:

https://www.motor1.com/news/757240/general-motors-sells-data-public-roads/

(All Quoted material is from that article)

 

[Sparse Gray Hackle]

Since that has to be GPS info captured by the vehicle, a lot of GM products will have the GPS disabled, along with any form of phone/tablet communication with the vehicle.

I live in an area of mostly 2 lane roads. Outside of cities/towns, most folks are 5 to 10 over the limit because of distances. GM will become very unpopular if their rig is a mole.

 

[driveby]

They know your truck is doing those things but not who is driving….. unless there is a driver camera as well.

 

[chet6.7]

The all seeing eye is here to help you.


''Your Car Is Spying on You
The data
If your car is relatively new, it’s been designed as a spying superstar—modern cars typically have microphones, cameras, and tons of sensors collecting data. But it’s not just the sensors built into the car itself—there are also all the apps installed on the car’s interface, plus all the apps installed on your phone, which you probably link to the car via Bluetooth, giving away all sorts of privacy in the process. That means car manufacturers can potentially know the music you listen to, things you say inside the car, and the locations you look up on map apps. We’re firehosing private information to a car maker; we just don’t think about it. In fact, some car manufacturers even admitted to tracking your sexual activity in relation to your car, along with health data.''

''Your Car Is Spying On You And Sharing Data With Third Parties
In my experience as an expert in digital forensics, I frequently encounter cases where sensitive information such as GPS locations, contact lists, and even search histories remains stored in vehicles long after previous owners have sold or traded them.
This lingering data can create serious vulnerabilities, potentially exposing former owners to identity theft or unauthorized access to their personal information.''
Yes, Your Car Is Spying On You. Here’s What To Do About It.

And the volume of the data collected is staggering. These days, a single car can collect up to 25 gigabytes of data per hour, more space than a two-hour film shot in 4K might occupy on your computer. Connected cars (i.e. those connected to a network or the internet) represent a seismic shift in the automotive technology. Vehicles are no longer merely modes of transport; they are sophisticated data collection hubs, equipped with comprehensive computers and sensors both inside and outside that employ artificial intelligence and machine learning. They track everything from geolocation data and driver behavior to potentially sensitive biometric information like heart rate or facial expressions.''

 

[oldnslow]

I seriously doubt that GM is the only company doing this. They are just the first to get caught at it.

 

[hansu]

I seriously doubt that GM is the only company doing this. They are just the first to get caught at it.

Correct. They all do it. Some more than others but none of them restrain themselves to the point where anyone with 3 brain cells to rub together would be comfortable with it if they knew the full scope. Same with "smart" phones unless you are running a very narrow band of de-Googled phones running an Open Source OS and only then with careful vetting of the extra installed apps. That is of limited impact when everyone around you is carrying a fully-fanged surveillance device.

On GM vehicles its own possible to defang this crap by pulling the fuse -- or better, installing a rocker switch -- to the OnStar system. Not always. And I've not played with the newer systems.

I spent some years in infosec circles where a lot of experimentation was happening re surveillance by the uholy alliance of gov and Big Tech. It's been clear that there's no way/not gonna be a way to avoid it completely. For instance, say you run a de-Googled phone and pull your fuses...your town likely still has face and plate scanning cameras installed (ex: Flock). Concensus amongst the informed is that the only viable path forward is not to avoid being surveilled but to poison the collected data to the point where its worthless to the collectors. I leave that as a area of research for those reading who are so inclined.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

How private do you think the data on your driving habits is, that’s automatically being recorded by the computer in your newer rig?

You might remember hearing once or twice that… “driving was a privilege, not a right, and that a state could revoke a license as quickly as it issued it if you broke the law. (But) that often meant a police officer had to catch you breaking the law and issue you a ticket, which you could challenge in court in hopes of reducing it to a lesser offense.”

“Now (though), your car can log every (driving) infraction you commit, intentional or not, and transmit that data to an automaker that could then sell it to your insurance company, potentially raising your rates, with no citation needed or ability to plead down to a lesser charge.”

As the author of this comment and the below article points out, “If all (your driving behavior) data is being collected, sold, and used against you, what’s the point of driving at all?


So if this right to driving privacy topic interests you, here’s some more on a concerning lawsuit filed against GM and others regarding the use of your data recorder information:


“The battle over who owns and controls your driving data is being fought in court. General Motors is facing a multi-district lawsuit that claims the Detroit-based automaker allegedly violated its customers’s privacy by collecting and selling their driving information without proper consent. However, GM is arguing it did not violate their privacy because “driving a vehicle—which necessarily involves conduct that takes place on public roads—cannot form the basis for any privacy-based claim.”

Did you know that this use of your driving data was (allegedly) going on? How do you feel about that argument?

Read on:

https://www.motor1.com/news/757240/general-motors-sells-data-public-roads/

(All Quoted material is from that article)

Yep. They all do it and have been for 20+ years, it's just more efficient now and that's scary. Same with your cell phone. This is very interesting because while driving is a "privilege," and happens on public roads, the 4th amendment protects as private all items in the car that are not in plain view, and no container within the vehicle can be searched without consent or probable cause. There is a reasonable expectation of privacy in your car.

So the questions that are likely to arise are:
1) this is not a law enforcement stop so do the questions of search and seizure even apply
2) if they do apply, will the computer that stores the data be considered within the vehicle as opposed to a part of the vehicle
3) would subscribing to OnStar make a difference because then you are volunteering. Possibly same to apply if you are making payments on the vehicle.

 

[SDDiver5]

Your data gets collected, bought and sold hundreds of times a day whether you like it or not. Everything can and will access your data. Your car can even collect data from open apps on your phone. Crazy and fascinating stuff. My wife works in data privacy and the stuff she tells me blows my mind. The EU and some state are pretty serious about laws around data collection while others don't seem to care.

 

[deserteagle56]

I have a fairly new Toyota 4Runner and it has its own version of GM's OnStar. It is constantly transmitting data to Toyota about the vehicle and how it is being used. On the 4Runner forums there are several discussions on how to stop this, as it seems the data transfer system is tied in with other functions in the entertainment system. Turn it off by pulling the fuse and you lose navigation and several other functions.

 

[MotoDave]

The decision by many OEM's not to support CarPlay comes down to exactly this - they've realized how valuable the data they can collect on you is, and they want to profit from it, not Apple or Google. GM, Tesla, Rivian and others