"The Federal Trade Commission has banned General Motors and subsidiary OnStar from sharing drivers' precise location and behavior data with consumer reporting agencies for five years under a 20-year consent order finalized January 14. According to the order [PDF], GM turned connected cars into surveillance devices by collecting and selling driver data without clearly informing customers. The settlement prohibits location and driving data sharing with consumer reporting agencies and requires explicit permission for future connected car data collection."
"Smart Driver was pitched as a free add-on inside GM's connected car apps, framed as a way to encourage safer driving. The FTC's complaint, first unveiled in January 2025, paints a murkier picture, accusing GM of steering drivers into OnStar and Smart Driver while downplaying how much location and driving data was being collected - and who it would ultimately be sold to."
The Federal Trade Commission finalized a 20-year consent order on January 14 that bans General Motors and OnStar from sharing drivers' precise location and driving-behavior data with consumer reporting agencies for five years. The order finds that GM collected and sold detailed telematics without clearly informing customers and requires explicit consent for future connected-car data collection. Reporting showed Smart Driver telematics — including precise location, hard braking, acceleration, speed, and seatbelt use — reached data brokers like LexisNexis and Verisk and was sold to insurers. The order requires consumer access to copies of their data, deletion, and a way to disable precise geolocation collection.
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