Being paranoid about Self-Monitoring Analysis Reporting Technology spying on you, which these days includes everything from home appliances to cars, is a healthy emotion based in reality.

Case in point: OnStar’s SMART driver feature shares driver data with the manufacturer who sells the driver data to data brokers who use the data to create “risk reports” that they sell to the driver’s insurance provider, with the driver usually remaining none the wiser.

Source: ABC 7 New York

One woman found out the hard way when she confronted her insurance about an 80% rate hike and uncovered hundreds of pages detailing her driving habits.

Like all startling revelations from the MSM this is likely a limited hangout version of the truth. Although there is no official confirmation of government agencies buying the driver data from these data brokers it is highly plausible that they do. As I mentioned in The Merger of State and Surveillance Capitalism, Lexis Nexis Risk Solutions, the data broker mentioned buying GM OnStar driver data in this story to compile into risk reports, has multi-million dollar contracts with Federal LE agencies and buying our data from third party brokers without judicial oversight has become a standard Federal LEO practice in our post 9/11 police state.

GM claims they severed ties with Lexis Nexis last month. Likely as a precaution to avoid class action lawsuits until they can successfully lobby for legislation that explicitly allows them to sell driver data to brokers again.