OnStar Changes its Mind About Tracking Vehicles

[exfileme]

After it was revealed that OnStar would continue tracking automobiles even after the user cancels the subscription, the company backtracks and revises its Terms and Conditions.

OnStar Changes its Mind About Tracking Vehicles : Read more

 

[house70]

"We tried to sneak one through the back door and got caught. It won't happen again... until next time, anyways."
One of the many examples where the corporations thought that their customers are stupid and it bit them right back in the a$$. they never have the best interest of their customers in mind, just their own, and are willing to go to any lengths and bend any rules or laws to fatten their wallets.
Funny how they tried after the fact to polish that turd. A$$holes.

 

[nebun]

you can thank uncle SAM for this one....we elected those power mongers...i am going to take a shower...wait i can't, they are watching me...

 

[southernshark]

They are still going to do it, regardless of what the contract says.

 

[bobusboy]

[citation][nom]otacon72[/nom]Then they'll be sued....stupid comment.[/citation]


[citation][nom]southernshark[/nom]They are still going to do it, regardless of what the contract says.[/citation]



They're only going to get sued if they get caught; businesses get away with a lot of things that you don't hear about.

 

[tical2399]

[citation][nom]nebun[/nom]you can thank uncle SAM for this one....we elected those power mongers...i am going to take a shower...wait i can't, they are watching me...[/citation]


How is the government responsible for this?

 

[garyshome]

Just remember you can't sue Obama Motors or the Government. Guess you haven't been paying any attention to what is going on here in the US.

 

[dalmvern]

I am interested in how exactly they establish the connection. Is it something where they can just push a button and establish the connection again?

If this is the case, and I expect it is, then who is to say whether or not your connection has been broken or not? OnStar. They are the only ones. I know police can subpoena that information if it is available and they have cause, but actually selling this information to law enforcement? That is just wrong.

 

[eddieroolz]

As always, it took an outraged public to make them think again - when they should have not done this in the first place.

 

[mdillenbeck]

Personally I don't see the big deal. The data isn't tied to you, its anonymous, right? So they sell the data to retailers so they can buy locations that will be more convenient to you and reduce the amount you drive, or they sell it to the government so they can plan roadways that will benefit the community. Also, if they track your vehicle no matter what, wouldn't that be helpful if it is ever stolen?

 

[Camikazi]

[citation][nom]MDillenbeck[/nom]Personally I don't see the big deal. The data isn't tied to you, its anonymous, right? So they sell the data to retailers so they can buy locations that will be more convenient to you and reduce the amount you drive, or they sell it to the government so they can plan roadways that will benefit the community. Also, if they track your vehicle no matter what, wouldn't that be helpful if it is ever stolen?[/citation]
Well considering they know the vehicle information, all of it, they can find out who owns it and can tie it to you rather easily, so anonymous technically but not really.

 

[COLGeek]

[citation][nom]garyshome[/nom]Just remember you can't sue Obama Motors or the Government. Guess you haven't been paying any attention to what is going on here in the US.[/citation]
Is there a point here? If so, what is it.

BTW, companies do this sort of nonsense all the time. Some cases are more public than others. Facebook is currently under scrutiny for similar actions, as Google has been in the past.

In the Internet Age, this is one of things (for all preactical purposes) is just the way it is and is the price of being "connected". I don't see where the current administration is to blame for any of this. Please explain.

 

[hoof_hearted]

Anonymous, my ass. There is a cellphone and a GPS built into the onstar unit along with the equivalent of a MAC address. And I am sure they can run an SQL statement against their database that will pull up your bill of sale when supplied with that MAC address. Hell, I bet they even have it indexed for performance. I hardly call that anonymous.

I am sure the same group who makes money off those red light and speeding cameras are negotiating for this data. Probably not law enforcement directly, but some other company and they'll just call it civil or some BS like that.

And they won't help you track your stolen vehicle unless you are a subscribed customer, even though they have the known location. Just not something they can crunch en masse. Inidividual issues like this are not money makers.

[citation][nom]MDillenbeck[/nom]Personally I don't see the big deal. The data isn't tied to you, its anonymous, right? So they sell the data to retailers so they can buy locations that will be more convenient to you and reduce the amount you drive, or they sell it to the government so they can plan roadways that will benefit the community. Also, if they track your vehicle no matter what, wouldn't that be helpful if it is ever stolen?[/citation]

 

[SlitelyOff]

I have two GM vehicles...older models (2001,2002), thank God, that were on the old analog OnStar. I am glad they can't track me anymore on my vehicles since they had to shutdown that system. I was debating getting another GM vehicle at some point, however, after the bailout and now THIS...they have lost my business forever. Thanks for making this decsion so easy GM.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

I understand the concern about privacy. Are there any positive uses that might be associated with leaving the system on?

 

[hoof_hearted]

It would be nice if you could somehow take control of the onstar hardware. Unlock your own doors from your own PC. It has to be do-able. I mean they (OnStar) is not magic. They just tap into a data cell link. Now if you could somehow break that protocol and use your own cell...

 

[CaedenV]

Too late, the damage is done. I will never buy a vehicle with OnStar or similar services.

 

[acadia11]

[citation][nom]garyshome[/nom]Just remember you can't sue Obama Motors or the Government. Guess you haven't been paying any attention to what is going on here in the US.[/citation]


Because don't you know, the GOP has you convinced government is responsible for verything so long as they aren't in power, in which case, they are responsible for nothinng

 

[extremepcs]

Just pull the power to the module like I did on both of my cars. I keep getting emails from them saying that they can't connect to my car to send me the stupid emails about reminding me to change my oil... lol

 

[wiyosaya]

[citation][nom]eddieroolz[/nom]As always, it took an outraged public to make them think again - when they should have not done this in the first place.[/citation]
Exactly. This is an ethical issue, IMHO. However, most companies have no idea what "ethics" are. The only thing many companies know these days is profit. Who cares about ethics when you can have profit.