An expert said the auto industry should pay attention to Texas' data privacy laws: "What Texas has done is funded it, staffed it and supported it."

Allstate ALL.N has been sued by the state of Texas, which accused the insurer on Monday of illegally tracking drivers through their cell phones without their consent and using the data to justify charging more for car insurance.

The lawsuit accuses Arity, an Allstate subsidiary, of collecting data about people’s driving behavior through mobile phone apps, leading to increases in drivers’ insurance rates.