AUSTIN, Texas — Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against insurance company Allstate, accusing the company of secretly tracking drivers through their cellphones.
The lawsuit claims Allstate and its subsidiary company, Arity, secretly collected driving data from mobile apps like Life360. It also claims the company tracked more than 45 million Americans and used the information to raise insurance rates without consumers’ knowledge.
This violates Texas’ new data privacy law, which requires companies to get clear consent before collecting sensitive information like your location.
This marks the first time any state has filed a lawsuit to enforce comprehensive data privacy laws.
“Our investigation revealed that Allstate and Arity paid mobile apps millions of dollars to install Allstate’s tracking software,” said Paxton. “The personal data of millions of Americans was sold to insurance companies without their knowledge or consent in violation of the law. Texans deserve better and we will hold all these companies accountable.”
The attorney general’s office is also investigating several car manufacturers for similar practices.