General Motors to pay $220 million to settle data privacy allegations

General Motors has reached a $220 million settlement to resolve allegations regarding the unauthorized sale of customer driving data and personal information. The agreement follows investigations by a coalition of 36 state attorneys general and the District of Columbia.

Prosecutors alleged that General Motors shared customer location and driving behavior data with data brokers, who then transferred the information to insurance companies to assess driver risk and determine insurance rates. The investigation focused on the Smart Driver program, which operated from 2016 to 2024.

According to the Washington State Attorney General, some dealerships reportedly enrolled customers in the program without their informed consent. Additionally, the OnStar application allegedly informed over 370,000 drivers they were not enrolled in the Smart Driver program, even while their driving data continued to be collected.