General Motors to pay $220 million to settle allegations over driver data sales
General Motors has reached a $220 million settlement with 36 U.S. attorneys general to resolve claims that it shared driver data with third parties without consent.
General Motors (GM) has agreed to a $220 million settlement following allegations from a coalition of 36 U.S. attorneys general regarding the unauthorized sale of driver information. The dispute centered on the company’s now-discontinued 'Smart Driver' program, which tracked vehicle metrics including acceleration patterns, braking frequency, and distance traveled.
Investigators found that GM passed this granular data to information brokers, allowing insurance companies to acquire insights into customer driving habits without the drivers’ explicit knowledge. This practice raised significant regulatory concerns regarding consumer privacy in an increasingly connected automotive market.
Under the terms of the agreement, GM must limit the scope of the driving data it collects. Furthermore, the company is now mandated to obtain clear, express consent from drivers before any future collection or sharing of such metrics occurs. The settlement serves as a notable development in the ongoing regulatory oversight of data privacy within the automotive sector.