FTC Bans GM Data Sharing with Consumer Agencies

General Motors and its subsidiary OnStar have reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) following allegations that they collected and sold drivers' precise geolocation and driving behavior data without informed consent. Under the settlement, GM is prohibited from sharing this data with consumer reporting agencies for five years and must obtain explicit consumer consent for future data collection. The FTC's investigation revealed that GM's Smart Driver program collected detailed data, which was sold to third-party companies like LexisNexis and Verisk, impacting insurance rates. GM has already discontinued the Smart Driver program and ended its relationship with these data brokers. The settlement marks the FTC's first action addressing privacy concerns related to connected vehicle data. GM has committed to giving consumers more control over their data, including options to access, delete, and opt-out of data collection.