General Motors' OnStar service for emergency driver-assistance is defending its practices after a prominent New York senator said it was violating the privacy of current and former customers.
"OnStar has and always will give our customers the choice in how we use their data 
," Joanne Finnorn, OnStar's vice president of subscriber services said Monday. "We've also been very open with our customers about changes in services and privacy terms."
'Brazen Invasion of Privacy'
In a news conference Sunday, Sen. Charles Schumer, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, said the company's change of its terms and conditions two weeks ago, notifying more than 5 million users that OnStar reserves the right to sell any data from vehicle signals, was "one of the most brazen invasions of privacy in recent memory . I urge OnStar to abandon this policy and for the FTC to immediately launch a full investigation to determine whether the company's actions constitute an unfair trade practice."
OnStar began emailing customers about two weeks ago about changes that go into effect Dec. 1. In a letter to Linda Marshall, executive director of OnStar's Global Business Strategy, Schumer wrote, "I write today to urge you to dial back the troubling changes your company recently announced to its data collection and retention policies."
Finnorn said customers have a right to opt out of the monitoring, though it is in their interest not to do so.
"In the future, this connection may provide us with the capability to alert vehicle occupants about severe weather conditions such as tornado warnings or mandatory evacuations," she said. "Another benefit for keeping this connection 'open' could be to provide vehicle owners with any updated warranty data or recall issues." She also said the information GM collects could be useful in the development of future vehicles.
"Of course, if the customer requests us to turn off the two-way connection, we will do as we have always done, and that is honor customers' requests."
We Haven't Sold Data (Yet)
Finnorn said the company's policy on sharing personal information has not changed.
"We are always very specific about with whom we share customers' personal information, and how they will use it. We have never sold any personally identifiable information to any third party," she said.
But privacy expert Ryan Calo, director of the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford University, said OnStar is off track.
"The senator is right to be concerned," Calo said. "Consumers who discontinue a service generally do not expect that it will continue to gather information about them. Imagine that you fire a bodyguard. Would you expect him to keep following you around?"
Calo added that the company's insistence that it has not sold data so far doesn't mean it never will.
"What if a hacker accesses the data?" he asked. "What if they just have a change of heart?"
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