General Motors agreed to pay $220 million to settle a lawsuit brought by a coalition of 36 state attorneys general. The attorneys general alleged that GM unlawfully sold consumers' location and driving behavior data to outside parties, including data brokers.
According to a press release from Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, who co-led the coalition, the data brokers sold the data to insurers. The release said this affected the prices drivers were charged for insurance.
Under the settlement, GM must ask customers for affirmative express consent before collecting or sharing driving behavior and location data. GM must also minimize the driving data it collects and safeguard that information under a comprehensive data privacy program.
The attorneys general allege that from 2016 through 2024, GM enrolled millions of people in its "Smart Driver" program. They say GM marketed the program as a way to help drivers improve safety, and promised not to give insurers data without affirmative consent. The attorneys general allege GM sold the data to data brokers anyway and did not tell participants.
The attorneys general also allege that GM mistakenly told more than 370,000 customers their data was not being monitored. GM then unenrolled those drivers without alerting them, and the data already collected was not withd