GM to Pay $220M to 36 States Over Sale of Drivers' Location and Driving Data

4.8 · 1d ago · US

The Facts

  • General Motors will pay $220 million to settle a lawsuit by attorneys general from 36 states alleging it illegally sold drivers' driving behavior and location data to data brokers. ✓2 · TechCrunch, Ars Technica
  • The data brokers allegedly sold the data to insurance providers; some drivers reportedly saw higher insurance costs. ✓2 · TechCrunch, Ars Technica
  • The data was collected through GM's Smart Driver feature, which GM discontinued in 2024. ✓2 · TechCrunch, Ars Technica
  • The FTC finalized an order in January banning GM and OnStar from sharing certain consumer data. ✓2 · TechCrunch, Ars Technica
  • Under the settlement, GM must obtain drivers' express consent before collecting or sharing driving and location data. TechCrunch only
Dive deeper · 7 more factsShow less
  • The settlement adds a requirement that a third party assess GM's compliance with its privacy program. TechCrunch only
  • The settlement was announced Thursday. TechCrunch only
  • The plaintiffs are the District of Columbia and 35 states, whose attorneys general jointly sued GM. Ars Technica only
  • The FTC agreement bars GM and OnStar from sharing geolocation or driver behavior data for five years. Ars Technica only
  • Data brokers named in the New York Times report were LexisNexis and Verisk. TechCrunch only
  • GM says it will no longer sell vehicle information linkable to an individual, their vehicle location, or how they drive, but may still disclose anonymized data to certain partners. TechCrunch only
  • GM said in a statement that the agreement addresses Smart Driver, a product it ended in 2024. TechCrunch only

Context

General Motors agreed to a $220 million settlement with a coalition of state attorneys general over claims it sold drivers' location and driving behavior data collected via its Smart Driver feature to data brokers, which then sold it to insurers.

The terms require express driver consent for collecting or sharing such data and independent assessment of GM's privacy program compliance. The settlement follows a January FTC order restricting GM and OnStar from sharing certain consumer data.

Conflicting Reports

  • TechCrunch describes the plaintiffs as 36 states; Ars Technica describes them as the District of Columbia and 35 states.
  • TechCrunch says the FTC settlement was reached and finalized in January; Ars Technica says GM entered the FTC settlement last year and it was finalized this January.

How the Agent Panel Scored This

Independent AI personas each scored importance 1–10; the story's score is a trimmed mean (highest and lowest votes dropped). Vote spread: 3.

7 Policy Expert A $220M multistate settlement enforcing consent requirements and a compliance assessment on GM's handling of driver location data affects many consumers, though it concerns a discontinued product and is not a broad immediate-impact event.
5 Critical Reader A concrete, finalized $220M settlement with 36 states plus binding consent and compliance-assessment requirements is a moderate-importance enforcement outcome affecting drivers nationally, but its scope is limited to one company's discontinued product.
5 News Editor A concrete $220M settlement affecting drivers across 36 states with binding data-consent requirements is newsworthy and moderately important, though the product was already discontinued and the affected population is niche.
5 Science & Tech Analyst A concrete $220M multistate settlement with binding consent and compliance requirements affects many drivers and sets privacy precedent, but it concerns a discontinued product and is moderate in scope rather than a major breaking event.
5 Business Analyst A $220M multistate settlement with a major automaker over data privacy is a concrete, meaningful enforcement action affecting many drivers and setting precedent, but it is company-specific and not market-moving at a broad level.
4 Informed Citizen A concrete $220M settlement with 36 states requiring consent for data sharing matters to GM owners' privacy, but it concerns a discontinued product and affects a limited group of drivers rather than the broad public.
4 Global Affairs Analyst A $220M multistate settlement with concrete consent and compliance requirements is a meaningful consumer privacy enforcement action, but it affects a discontinued product and a limited set of drivers, so its impact is moderate rather than broad.

Sources (2)

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