FTC bans General Motors from selling driver data for five years — The Verge
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has prohibited General Motors from selling customer data to consumer reporting agencies and third-party data brokers for five years. As The Verge reports, the automaker collected information about drivers’ behavior, including speeding and nighttime trips, and then shared it to create risk profiles for insurance companies.
How the data was collected
According to the publication, some drivers may have unknowingly agreed to data collection when signing up for the OnStar connected services package. It activated the Smart Driver feature, which collected driving data. Many drivers did not realize the scale of the collection and sharing of information because of the confusing process of enrolling in the service.
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General Motors shared data with two brokers — LexisNexis and Verisk — which work with the insurance industry. In a 2024 investigation by The New York Times, some drivers said that their insurance rates increased after such data was collected.
Terms of the settlement
Under the terms of the settlement with the FTC, General Motors must make it easier for drivers to turn off location tracking. The company must also allow customers to access and delete the data collected by the automaker. The Verge notes that General Motors is not the only automaker accumulating data about its customers.
