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.
On Tuesday OnStar said that it has decided to reverse its proposed Terms and Conditions policy changes, and will not keep a data connection to customers’ vehicles after the OnStar service is canceled.
The about-face arrives just under a week after the company updated its Terms and Conditions with the right to sell the GPS-derived data it pulls from OnStar systems in an anonymous format. The new terms enabled the company to keep a constant connection to an installed system even after the customer canceled the subscription. Naturally this caused a rush of negative feedback, especially since the policy meant OnStar could track the vehicle's movement and speed, and then possibly sell the info to local law enforcement.
According to OnStar, the new policy wasn't expected to kick in until the beginning of December, but the company began sending out emails last week announcing the new change in terms. Yet even during the aftermath following the new policy's exposure, OnStar pointed out that prior customers could actually call in and request that OnStar halt its unwanted connection. But that simply wasn't enough to keep consumers from lighting up torches and burning their contracts, so the company reverted back to its original Terms and Conditions.
"We realize that our proposed amendments did not satisfy our subscribers," OnStar President Linda Marshall said on Tuesday. "This is why we are leaving the decision in our customers’ hands. We listened, we responded and we hope to maintain the trust of our more than 6 million customers." She added that if OnStar ever offers the option of a data connection after cancellation, it would only be when a customer opted-in, not by force. Even then, OnStar would honor customers’ preferences about how data from that connection is treated.
Last week an OnLive spokesman said that the post-subscription connection was kept alive in order to make it easier for consumers to renew their subscription. But Tuesday Marshall said that the constant data connection was to allow OnStar to provide urgent information about natural disasters and vehicle recalls to the former customers. Sounds like mixed messages, to be honest.
"We regret any confusion or concern we may have caused," Marshall said.
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.
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.
Then they'll be sued....stupid comment.
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.
How is the government responsible for this?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.