Many motorists believed their vehicles were simply evaluating their habits to encourage safer trips, unaware that their sharp turns, hard braking, and travel distances were being tracked. Now, General Motors has agreed to pay $220 million to resolve allegations that it collected driving and location data without driver knowledge and sold it to commercial brokers, who then passed the records to insurance providers.
The settlement resolves an investigation brought by a coalition of 36 US attorneys general, co-led by Dan Rayfield of Oregon and Nick Brown of Washington. Authorities accused the automaker of secretly enrolling vehicle owners in its Smart Driver program and forwarding detailed trip metrics to data brokers. Insurance companies were then able to purchase those driving histories and increase premiums for affected policyholders.
"People bought a car, not a tracking device," Rayfield said, pointing out that drivers were promised safety guidance rather than unapproved data sales. GM stated that it terminated the Smart Driver feature in 2024 and emphasized that the agreement builds on broader privacy reforms. GM spokesperson Charlotte McCoy explained that connected vehicle data enables personalized services, adding that the company is committed to clear data protection standards and giving drivers explicit choices over shared records.
Under the agreement, GM must restrict future collection of driving metrics and obtain express consent from drivers before gathering vehicle data. The penalty follows an earlier $12.75 million settlement GM reached over similar data-sharing allegations in California, reflecting stricter regulatory scrutiny over connected vehicle surveillance.