Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has opened an investigation into several car manufacturers after widespread reporting that they have secretly been collecting mass amounts of data about drivers directly from their vehicles and then selling that data to third parties—including to insurance providers.
The Texas Deceptive Trade Practices – Consumer Protection Act authorizes the Office of the Attorney General to investigate false, misleading, or deceptive acts or practices. Accordingly, car manufacturers and the third parties to whom they sold data are being instructed to produce documents relevant to their conduct. Additionally, they are being instructed to produce documents showing the disclosures they made to customers about the extent of their data collection practices and subsequent sale of their customers’ data.
“The technology in modern vehicles enables manufacturers to collect millions of data points about the people driving them” said Attorney General Paxton. “Recently, consumers have grown extremely concerned that their driving data is being reported to their insurance company without their knowledge or authorization. These reports of the invasive and unmitigated collection and sale of data without consumer consent are disturbing, and they merit a thorough investigation and appropriate enforcement.”