I was going through my post archive here the other day looking for something and in the process noticed that my original post about the OnStar tracking shit is, for whatever reason, apparently relatively popular. Fuck if I know why, but whatever.

At any rate, when that was posted the web was aflame with vast hordes of bloggers condemning the same activity. In turn, a handful of senators condemned the activity and suggested an investigation was needed. Needless to say, shortly afterwards OnStar changed their tune and said they’d no longer track users after they had unsubscribed. Noble of them to back down in the face of spiraling legal costs like that. And also completely meaningless, given that all you have is their word, as well as their tracking device still embedded in your car.

Since then, things have gotten quiet and the uproar has died down. Yet nothing else has changed. OnStar still maintains they have the right to collect customer GPS data to give to law enforcement, your car manufacturer, and their affiliates (advertisers).

I was just reading their terms and conditions and found a fun little bit. If you have passengers in your car, it’s your responsibility to tell them that they will be tracked by OnStar. That’s slightly funny. “Hey guys, I can give you a ride but you’ll all have to sign this consent form…”