The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced a new proposal that bans General Motors (GM) and its subscription-based services subsidiary, OnStar, from providing consumer reporting agencies with driver location and behavior data, accusing the automaker of improperly collecting and sharing sensitive consumer data. According to the FTC’s complaint, GM allegedly used deceptive practices to enroll drivers in OnStar services, such as the Smart Driver feature, potentially leading to elevated insurance rates. This will be the agency’s first action related to connected vehicle data.
As outlined by the FTC, as well as numerous previous reports, the Smart Driver feature can collect a wealth of detailed data, including instances of speeding, hard braking, and nighttime driving patterns, sometimes as frequently as every three seconds. The complaint claims that consumers were often unaware that this information was being sold to third parties and could be used to influence insurance rates. General Motors ditched the Smart Driver feature last May.
Under the proposed settlement, General Motors and OnStar are facing several restrictions designed to protect consumer privacy. For example, GM must obtain explicit consent from consumers before collecting geolocation or driving behavior data. Additionally, consumers will be provided witheasy access to the data that is collected, plus options for its deletion and the ability to place limits on geolocation tracking. In addition, GM and OnStar will be banned for five years from disclosing geolocation and driver behavior to consumer reporting agencies.
The FTC states that the consent agreement will be open to public comment for 30 days before it can be finalized.
“GM monitored and sold people’s precise geolocation data and driver behavior information, sometimes as often as every three seconds,” said FTC Chair, Lina Khan. “With this action, the FTC is safeguarding Americans’ privacy and protecting people from unchecked surveillance.”
In the event that General Motors and OnStar violate the finalized order, they could face significant financial penalties, including a civil penalty up to $51,744 per violation.
Back in March of 2024, a Cadillac customer in Florida filed a federal lawsuit against General Motors and LexisNexis Risk Solutions alleging a violation of privacy and consumer protection laws after discovering that data on his driving habits had been shared with insurers. The automaker has since faced intense scrutiny and further legal action over its data sale practices.
GM Authority previously covered how to opt out of GM sharing your driving data with insurance companies.
Comments
For a company that preaches ethics to its employees constantly (especially after the ignition switch disaster) and privacy/info security, they sure sold out for a new income stream. It’s beyond shameful and disgusting. The FTC needs to make this painful and permanent.
We need to investigate the insurance companies as well. They’re getting access to private information in order to increase their profits.
Agree 100%. the FTC also needs to ban the Google built-in features and stop GM/Google from providing our data to the CCP.
CCP? How so because Google has CCP employees? Well then you better add just about every large american company that also uses India, China, uhum Belarus aka Russia last of the 12 sticking with Putin, and and and…I know I worked with one from the Beylo region.
Congrats to the FTC stepping in, but geolocation of drivers should never ever be sold to anyone. In fact, it’s questionable why GM is even permitted to keep this data. Recently Volkswagen patched their system after they discovered that the location of all of their 800,000 EVs were being displayed online. Car manufacturers have no business possessing this information. It will only lead to bad things, such as the scandal that led the FTC to get involved in the first place.
Agreed 100%. Especially when as a paid premium OnStar user, I was constantly told they had no access to my vehicles location unless I reported it stolen, in which case THEN they would alert the police and “allow” my location to be “Seen”. It maddened me to the core then that I couldn’t obtain it myself when I knew they had the capability, but now, it’s a bit of a burn inside, I ain’t gonna lie … This is BS all the way around.
Pull the 10 amp On Star fuse. Problem solved. That’s what I did and my insurance stabilized.
I would not only pull the fuse you need to disconnect the OnStar module. It will continue to get power through the ECM.
Chizzel…I was told a piece of thin lead sheeting over the roof mount antenna will block them from receiving data.
You mean like putting aluminum foil in ones hood caps back in the day to scrammble cop speed radars…LOL
GM should face a class action lawsuit for violating ALL its customers privacy and profiting off the data it mishandled. Slap on the wrist is not enough of a punishment. Thanks Mary for another deception under your leadership.
This is beyond shameful and the punishment for GM’s SLT and anyone else involved in this should be severe.
On my local news, they had a story regarding this and interviewed a woman whose car insurance spiked by 80 percent after GM sold what was described as “603 events” to her insurance company. She drives a Chevrolet Camaro and apparently all of her WOT events were tracked and sold along with hard braking events and instances of “high-speed”. The irony, of course, is that GM sold her a high-performance car then tattletales on her behind her back to her insurance company when she actually tried enjoy its performance capabilities. They did all this to make more money off of her and did so without her knowledge. According to the report, GM apparently told her its Smart Driver Program would collect data through OnStar for her use but instead it was sold to data brokers to make GM more profitable.
Truly shameful behavior on the part of General Motors and, I presume, Barra who I recall was giddy at one time about how much money GM was going to make through subscriptions and OnStar.
Mary Barra is a disgrace and should be fired. She’s slowly but surely killing of the entire GM line.
Just who do you think asked for this kind of intrusion, who do you think engineered it, who agreed to it. It is not ONE person, it is a collection of people.
What you are describing was contained in a LexisNexis report that I obtained after I learned. My insurance has also gone sky high. I stopped driving the car. I am going to disconnect the Satellite antenna, as suggested here by others. It makes me mad and has personally affected me. Anyone can order this report.
This is BS ! Out if all the modern safety features this would make more unsafe drivers and increase criminal activity ! The nations highways are a blood bathe as it is ! If your a responsible driver and obey the rules of the road then no worries !
It will be interesting to see what happens once Trump abolishes the FTC.
I guess we’ll be left on our own to file class action lawsuits.
Who said the Trump/Musk team is going after the FTC ? They have yet to be mentioned. Guess we know which way you voted.
one is basically on their own now. think the ftc would have got evolved if it wasn’t first disclosed in the first lawsuit ?
Harmed consumers should be entitled to triple damages. E.g., if their insurance rates increased based on data collected and sold by GM (unless the consumer actively OPTED-IN to GM doing so in advance) should be entitled to triple their increased insurance costs already inrurred plus a generous estimate of future year elevated costs.
Is GM unique in gathering and then marketing this type of information or is it common to all manufacturers. Including Volkswagon, Toyoto, Honda, and others? A huge part of insurance spikes is also a result of all the electronics in new vehicles which can more than double once routine “accident” damage.
If you study the LexisNexis agreements it was several , but not all. And everyone can ask for their personal report, and it is a whopper of an eye-opener. We all were taught to watch Experian, Transunion, and Equifax, but we never knew about LexisNexis. There are a few others that gather Big-Data, and sell it, and it affects you, and me, and everyone. Good Luck. Take care of yourself.
No meanwhile we allow the umpa lumpa and his crownies full access to our gov data! Enough said.
Especially when as a paid premium OnStar user, I was constantly told they had no access to my vehicles location unless I reported it stolen, in which case THEN they would alert the police and “allow” my location to be “Seen”. It maddened me to the core then that I couldn’t obtain it myself when I knew they had the capability, but now, it’s a bit of a burn inside, I ain’t gonna lie … This is BS all the way around.
So why aren’t the drivers being reimbursed for the higher insurance rates that this caused? It did for me.
Then I found software in the radio, in which you could unsubscribe from this.
Fine them until they bleed. Then go after all the Insurance Companies and their Underwriters who control their rates and who subscribed to and paid GM for access to this data. This data mining, in secret, without consent, must end. Use the proceeds from the fines to pay down a small portion of the National Debt. Now I’m wondering what data mining has occurred to drive Homeowner’s Insurance to these astronomical heights. What else is spying on us ?
No on star for me. Imagine driving a Z06 or a ZL1 and having all your driving going to the insurance company ???
And everyones ok with our gov pilfering through all our personal records in the name of cost savings ONLY which is absolute BS. The next IRS access of records is not for you and me but payback to other wealthy peopole or politicians who did not vote their way. Like it or not it should NOT happen. Enough said.
That explains why my insurance after 40+ years with US** suddenly shot up a few hundred $$$ per year!
Not good GM. Not f**king good, at all!
GM blunders again, but now the insurance companies want you to put a beacon in the vehicle so that they can “insure you have the best rates available” which is totally bullsh*t. They want you to report the mileage on the vehicle and then question why it is so low/high.
We recently went from 3 cars to 1, cancelled the policies for the 2 we sold and our insurance jumped significantly with State Farm. When I questioned why, the response was they had lost contact with their beacon so they couldn’t track my driving. Yep…they lost contact with it because it is sitting in a drawer in my tool box!
FTC: just a slap on the hand. gm is putting so much money into the chinese market and now they are screwing their own customers in the name of the almighty dollar. i’m smart enough to know that gm is NOT the only company doing this to the American people but i will look hard at other car companies on my future purchases. Thanks to all upper gm management.
1984
No privacy or secrets anymore.
Dukecity
There is no mention what the data supports, when GM owners use Denali Reserve Package features in everyday motor operations, such as Lane Alert, Adaptive Cruise Control, HUD and when onstar transmits vehicle information as it happens. Whenever we travel to/from home, our Sierra 1500 Denali Duramax displays Average MPG and remaining fuel range as we drive.
We can scroll down display remaining – oil life, brake front/rear wear, air filter, fuel filter, D-E-F level and transmission temperature. So why does not an insurance provider learn along with the owner, truck data helps monitor use to estimate maintenance on the truck?