GM to pay $220 million after selling customer Smart Driver data

General Motors marketed its Smart Driver system as a way for parents to monitor teen drivers or for adults to track their driving behavior. But in 2024, it emerged that GM had been sharing that data with brokers. Those brokers then sold the data to insurance companies, and some drivers found that their insurance became more expensive as a result. To make matters worse, many of those drivers claimed they had no knowledge of ever agreeing to share such data for such purposes.

Last year, GM and its OnStar subsidiary entered into a settlement with the FTC, prohibiting them from sharing some kinds of driver data with third parties. The settlement was finalized this January. That agreement banned the two companies from sharing geolocation data or driver behavior data for five years. At the time, GM also discontinued Smart Driver across its entire range.

Now the automaker has reached terms with the District of Columbia and 35 states after their attorneys general joined together to sue GM as well.

GM told Reuters in a statement that “[s]afer, more helpful and personalized experiences are enabled by connected vehicle data, and GM is committed to being clear about what information is used, how ⁠it’s protected, and the choices customers have about what they share.”

According to TechCrunch, the settlement with the states is notable in that it doesn’t take GM’s word that it’s complying with the privacy policy—a third party will be required to make that determination.

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