Onstar....a spy???? please comment

[TahoeCamaro]

Originally Posted by Ivas

There is FAR TOO MUCH SNOOPIN' as it is. For those of y'all old enough to remember when the 4th Amendment still meant sumpthin'; and a man was secure in his phone calls, mail, garbage and the trunk of his car, allowing Onstar, voluntarily, to be spying on ya', is foolishness in the extreme.

If ya' got it, cancel it. If ya' can't cancel it, don't turn it on; let it expire...
Anonymity is your right!

P.S. If ya' can live without a cellular telephone, all the better. I own one, but its stays turned off on the kitchen counter. It'll probably stay there until the wife wants me to take it along when we go on a trip... And even then, I'll be damned if I'll use it.

Paranoid much?

[The_Blur]

OnStar doesn't care. They don't care if you're speeding. They don't care if you're racing. They don't care if you're a drug addict. They don't care if you like to have sex in your car. They don't care. They aren't listening unless the car requests OnStar.

OnStar is a call center. They receive calls from cars. Those calls are only initiated by the car because you either pushed the OnStar button or your car's crash sensor were activated. There is no other reason for OnStar to be on your phone.

"But I got a call in my car from someone trying to sell me stuff." I know. I'm sorry. I'm sure you've been called on telemarketers on your home or cell phone, too. Am I right? Do you know how I knew that? All phones can receive calls. OnStar does include a phone, but it does not mean that the person on the other end of the phone is necessarily an OnStar representative. That's how you can call your mom from your car by saying "dial" and then your mom's number. Just because you have an AT&T phone doesn't mean you're only using the phone to call AT&T. Other people can call that number. That is not spying.

OnStar is not trying to hold down a revolution or anything. None of us are trying to revolt. And from what would we be revolting? If we didn't want a Chevrolet, we have the free will to choose something else, so OnStar is not somehow enforcing the will of General Motors on us.

Let's talk about OnStar customer service associates. They are just like you. They go to work. They do their job. They go home. Do you think they care what happens in your car? If they did care, what would motivate them? Does your anti-OnStar conspiracy theory consider this? Would it take commissions and bonuses to make people care about what happens in your car? How big of a commission would it take for you to care what happens in my car? This is what OnStar reps are thinking if they are reading these threads. They don't care.

Let me tell you what does matter to OnStar representatives. They want you to buy OnStar. If you're scared of OnStar and don't buy OnStar, OnStar does not make money. They can lose their jobs if that happens too much, so they want to provide awesome customer service and sell profit generators that make you want to buy the service. That's all they want. Just like you want to be relevant at your job, OnStar reps want to be relevant at their jobs. They want you to want their service so they can keep their jobs.

Let's summarize: OnStar doesn't care what happens in your car.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Does this thread still exist? Holy moly....

I guess this discussion also proves freedom of speech is still a right, even if it's paranoid drivel.

[TahoeCamaro]

Originally Posted by The_Blur

OnStar doesn't care. They don't care if you're speeding. They don't care if you're racing. They don't care if you're a drug addict. They don't care if you like to have sex in your car. They don't care. They aren't listening unless the car requests OnStar.

OnStar is a call center. They receive calls from cars. Those calls are only initiated by the car because you either pushed the OnStar button or your car's crash sensor were activated. There is no other reason for OnStar to be on your phone.

"But I got a call in my car from someone trying to sell me stuff." I know. I'm sorry. I'm sure you've been called on telemarketers on your home or cell phone, too. Am I right? Do you know how I knew that? All phones can receive calls. OnStar does include a phone, but it does not mean that the person on the other end of the phone is necessarily an OnStar representative. That's how you can call your mom from your car by saying "dial" and then your mom's number. Just because you have an AT&T phone doesn't mean you're only using the phone to call AT&T. Other people can call that number. That is not spying.

OnStar is not trying to hold down a revolution or anything. None of us are trying to revolt. And from what would we be revolting? If we didn't want a Chevrolet, we have the free will to choose something else, so OnStar is not somehow enforcing the will of General Motors on us.

Let's talk about OnStar customer service associates. They are just like you. They go to work. They do their job. They go home. Do you think they care what happens in your car? If they did care, what would motivate them? Does your anti-OnStar conspiracy theory consider this? Would it take commissions and bonuses to make people care about what happens in your car? How big of a commission would it take for you to care what happens in my car? This is what OnStar reps are thinking if they are reading these threads. They don't care.

Let me tell you what does matter to OnStar representatives. They want you to buy OnStar. If you're scared of OnStar and don't buy OnStar, OnStar does not make money. They can lose their jobs if that happens too much, so they want to provide awesome customer service and sell profit generators that make you want to buy the service. That's all they want. Just like you want to be relevant at your job, OnStar reps want to be relevant at their jobs. They want you to want their service so they can keep their jobs.

Let's summarize: OnStar doesn't care what happens in your car.

[Number 3]

OnStar can listen in on your conversation in your car in exactly the same way the phone companies listen in to everything you say around your cell phone. And you carry that EVERYWHERE don't you. Laced with sarcasm there.

If you are affraid of OnStar, you should be affraid of your cell phone. Same deal. Of course that probably only sets of rampant paranoia in some.

But Blur pretty much summed it up. All it would take is one case where OnStar listened in on someone and the business model implodes.

OnStar only collects data on your car if you GIVE PERMISSION. If you don't give that permission nothing is collected.

OnStar guards your security and privacy more than you do. The business model doesn't work otherwise.

And I'm pretty sure the government can listen in on any conversation you have in your car without OnStar's help. That is unless you have XM or Sirius. Those turn your radio into a 2-way. LOL

[CFD]

If you are that paranoid you should be more worried about the satellites in the sky than onstar they can spot a pimple on your ass.

[Capthowdy]

boogy boogy......look out for the men in black....boogy boogy....

[Berean]

1876: The telephone is invented.

1898: Magnetic recorder invented and applied to wire (telephone) recordings. Law enforcement demands access for criminal investigations.

1928: US Supreme Court declares wire tapping without judicial approval constitutional. Olmstead v. United States

1967: US Supreme Court declares wire tapping must have judicial approval. Katz v. Unite States

1994: Congress passes the Communication Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) act. The Act obliges telecommunications companies to make it possible for law enforcement agencies to tap any phone conversations carried out over its networks, as well as making call detail records available. The act stipulates that it must not be possible for a person to detect that his or her conversation is being monitored by the respective government agency.



1995: On Star is invented..........

[Stingr69]

OnStar is a FOR PROFIT business. Can you IMAGINE what would happen to thier profits if law enforcement were to actually USE that OPTIONAL system against a OnStar customer on a regular basis?!?!

THINK ABOUT IT! The Onstar antennas would be flying into garbage bins all over the country. NOBODY would pay for it ever again if it would be making it easier for huge numbers of car owners to get fined or locked up every day. It just does not add up. OnStar has a very big interest in keeping our privacy, private.

The only reason anyone would fear OnStar is strictly paranoia.

Could government make an effort to monitor people more intrusively at some point in the future? OK - yes it is possible, but lets remember to do a reality check now before we throw the OnStar baby out with the bath water. If my wife and child have an accident in my car and can't reach for help, I want OnStar on the job for me. Get a grip!

-Mark.

[Berean]

Originally Posted by Stingr69

OnStar is a FOR PROFIT business. Can you IMAGINE what would happen to thier profits if law enforcement were to actually USE that OPTIONAL system against a OnStar customer on a regular basis?!?!

THINK ABOUT IT! The Onstar antennas would be flying into garbage bins all over the country. NOBODY would pay for it ever again if it would be making it easier for huge numbers of car owners to get fined or locked up every day. It just does not add up. OnStar has a very big interest in keeping our privacy, private.

The only reason anyone would fear OnStar is strictly paranoia.

Could government make an effort to monitor people more intrusively at some point in the future? OK - yes it is possible, but lets remember to do a reality check now before we throw the OnStar baby out with the bath water. If my wife and child have an accident in my car and can't reach for help, I want OnStar on the job for me. Get a grip!

-Mark.

Apparently you missed my post directly above yours.

If the Government does get unrestricted access to Onstar data, I doubt most people will even hear about it. How many people know about CALEA? How many people threw their phones out as a result? It will be the same with Onstar.

[WadeWilson]

[Rogue Leader]

There are a few people in my life I've had to deal with, with their rampant paranoia. There is just one thing iI drilled into their head that you need to remember:

NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOU! NOBODY!

They don't care what you're calling your mom about, they don't care that you are doing 100 in a 55, they don't care that you're shagging your mistress in the back seat parked by the pier, and they certainly don't care that you are picking your nose in traffic.

All they care about is that the money you pay for the service with is green.

lets say it all again...

NOONE GIVES A CRAP ABOUT YOU.

Read it, remember it, live by it.

[Berean]

Originally Posted by Rogue Leader

NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOU! NOBODY!

lets say it all again...

NOONE GIVES A CRAP ABOUT YOU.

Another great Rogue Leader quote.

[Rogue Leader]

Originally Posted by Berean

Another great Rogue Leader quote.

LOL yes, I remember you had my quote about the clutch in your sig for a while LOL.