General Motors Reaches $220 Million Settlement Over Driver Data Tracking
General Motors has agreed to a $220 million multistate settlement resolving allegations that the automaker tracked millions of drivers’ habits through its Smart Driver program and sold that private data to insurance companies, FOX 2 reported. The agreement closes a legal battle involving more than half the states in the country over practices that ran from 2016 to 2024, during which customer behavioral data was used by third-party data brokers and insurers to set insurance rates for consumers.
Michigan will receive more than $7 million from the total payout, according to an announcement made on Thursday by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Investigators uncovered that the vast majority of consumers who enrolled in the Smart Driver program did so during a dealership vehicle purchase, where staff members agreed to the program’s terms on the buyers’ behalf without obtaining their permission.
How the Tracking Operated Without Driver Knowledge
The lawsuit detailed systemic failures within GM’s vehicle software and mobile applications that kept drivers in the dark. Investigators found that the automaker’s OnStar app inaccurately informed approximately 370,000 drivers that they were not enrolled in the tracking program when, in fact, they were.
GM subsequently removed these motorists from the program in secret, failing to notify them of the error, and allegedly maintained their information with insurance firms and data brokers, resulting in some drivers experiencing higher insurance costs after insurers acquired their driving behavior metrics.
Despite initial marketing by GM portraying the Smart Driver feature as an aid for drivers to enhance personal safety, the collected details were transferred to data brokers under agreements explicitly designating the information for insurance applications.
States File Legal Action as General Motors Issues Statement
The legal action involved a coalition made up of more than half the states in the U.S. The participating jurisdictions include:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Hawai’i
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
In the wake of the settlement announcement, General Motors issued a public statement addressing the resolution. “This agreement addresses Smart Driver, a product we ended in 2024, and reinforces steps we’ve taken to strengthen our privacy practices. Safer, 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,” the company stated.
