Letter to Linda Marshall Executive Director Global Business Strategy OnStar

Letter

Linda Marshall

Executive Director

Global Business Strategy

OnStar

Dear Ms. Marshall,

I write today to urge you to dial back the troubling changes your company recently announced to its data collection and retention policies.

By connecting motorists with emergency services, OnStar undoubtedly provides a very valuable service. In order to take advantage of that service, customers provide OnStar with access to extremely sensitive personal data about their vehicle and their driving habits. Consumers trust OnStar to collect and protect that data responsibly.

Your recent announcement that you would continue, by default, to collect data on subscribers who had terminated their service and that you retained the right to distribute that data to third parties is a violation of the trust your customers put in you. More troubling, it is a violation of which many may not be aware; a reasonable consumer would assume that when they terminate a service, they will no longer be monitored by the service provider.

I hope that you will reconsider these policy changes. In the meantime, I have written to the FTC and asked them to investigate whether your new policy constitutes a violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits unfair and deceptive trade practices. I hope, however, that government intervention will not be necessary and that OnStar will step up and do the right thing for its customers.

Sincerely,

Senator Charles Schumer

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