General Motors (GM) first started tracking customers in 1996. Using its popular OnStar service, those in select GM vehicles could ask for directions, diagnose vehicle-related problems, or even disable a stolen vehicle by contacting a voice on the other end of the line.
For around $35 a month, GM provided customers with an on-demand concierge available at the touch of a button. But unbeknownst to many, OnStar required more than just a monthly subscription fee.
“Data is the currency of the digital age,” said Jim Barbaresso, Intelligent Transportation Systems lead at HTNB, told CNN last year. “Vehicle data could be the beginning of a modern day gold rush.”
This gold rush is pointing to a future where data collected by automakers might one day be more valuable than the car itself. And consumers, for the most part, remain blissfully unaware of just how much they’re giving away.
Lawmakers first noticed the problem in 2012.
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