Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
OnStar Corporation manufactures a communication system incorporated into an auto-
mobile's rear-view mirror. OnStar provides emergency, security, navigation, and diag-
nostics services to its subscribers. For example, a driver who runs out of gas can push
the Blue OnStar button to initiate a conversation with an OnStar representative. The
driver does not have to know his or her exact location, because the system automat-
ically sends the GPS location of the automobile to OnStar, which can send help. The
driver does not always need to initiate the communication with OnStar representatives.
For example, whenever the air bags deploy on an OnStar-equipped vehicle, the system
automatically communicates the location of the vehicle to an OnStar center, which can
initiate a 911 call.
The capabilities of the OnStar system were dramatically revealed in Visalia, Califor-
nia, in October 2009, when a man with a sawed-off shotgun ordered two occupants of
a 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe to get out of their vehicle. He took their money and drove off
in the SUV. After the police got the victim's permission to track down the stolen vehicle,
OnStar provided the police with its current location. When police cars began to tail the
Tahoe, its driver sped up. At this point the OnStar service center issued a command to
the SUV that electronically disabled the gas pedal, causing the Tahoe to gradually slow
to a halt and allowing the police to apprehend the carjacker. Visalia Police Chief Colleen
Mestas complimented the new technology for preventing a potentially dangerous high-
speed car chase [41].
Because OnStar has the ability to track the location of OnStar-equipped vehicles
and listen to conversations happening within them, some privacy advocates have ex-
pressed concerns about possible abuses that could occur if this information were shared
with law enforcement agencies. For example, suppose the police were looking for sus-
pects in an unsolved crime. Should they have the right to gather information from
OnStar about all OnStar-equipped vehicles that were in the area at the time of the
crime?
In an hour-long Web chat on the General Motors FastLane site in November 2009,
OnStar's Jane Speelman responded to these concerns. According to Speelman, OnStar
does not continuously monitor the location of OnStar-equipped vehicles, OnStar does
not provide information about the speed of vehicles to law enforcement agencies, and
OnStar representatives cannot listen to conversations inside a vehicle without alerting
the vehicle's occupants [42].
You probably know about airplane flight data recorders, also called “black boxes,” which
provide information useful in postcrash investigations. Did you know that modern au-
tomobiles also come equipped with a “black box”? A microprocessor attached to the car's
air bag records information about the speed of the car, the amount of pressure being put
on the brake pedal, and whether the seat belts are connected. After a collision, investiga-
tors can retrieve the microprocessor from the automobile and view data collected in the
five seconds before the accident [43].
