General Motors has agreed to pay $220 million to resolve a major data privacy lawsuit brought by the attorneys general of 35 US states and the District of Columbia. The legal action centered on the automaker's OnStar Smart Driver program, which tracked driving habits such as speeding, hard braking, and late-night driving between 2016 and 2024.
Investigations revealed that GM enrolled millions of customers into the program, often without their explicit knowledge or consent, and subsequently sold this telemetry data to data brokers and insurance companies. This unauthorized data sharing led to unsuspecting drivers facing increased insurance premiums. Court documents highlighted that dealership employees sometimes accepted terms and conditions on behalf of customers to secure company sales bonuses.
The multi-state settlement imposes strict operational changes on the automaker. GM must now limit the driving data it collects, enhance personal information protection, and submit to mandated internal and external privacy program assessments. Additionally, the company faces increased regulatory oversight and mandatory employee training at its dealerships following previous federal actions regarding consumer data sharing.
General Motors Settles Multi-State Driver Data Privacy Lawsuit for $220 Million
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