The investigation is being conducted under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which allows the attorney general to pursue companies engaged in false, misleading, or deceptive practices. Paxton’s inquiry follows his recent announcement of a new team within his consumer protection division dedicated to enforcing the state’s data privacy laws, including the forthcoming Data Privacy and Security Act, set to take effect on July 1.
This new team, described by Paxton as “one of the largest in the country focused on enforcing privacy laws,” will oversee the enforcement of various state data protection regulations, including the Biometric Identifier Act and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
The investigation was sparked by reports that car manufacturers have been secretly collecting extensive data from drivers through their vehicles and selling this information to insurers and other companies without customer consent. General Motors (GM) has faced several proposed class actions alleging that it used its OnStar units to collect driver data and passed it on to data broker LexisNexis Risk Solutions, which then sold it to insurers.
