General Motors Barred From Selling Driver Data for 5 Years

Core Points - General Motors (GM) and its subsidiary OnStar will be prohibited from sharing drivers' precise geolocation and driving behavior data with consumer reporting agencies for five years as part of a settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) [1] - The settlement addresses privacy concerns related to GM's discontinued Smart Driver program, which allegedly collected and sold private data from millions of vehicles without proper consumer notification or consent [2] - The FTC's action also targets issues with GM's OnStar service, which was marketed as an emergency aid and navigation tool, claiming that the enrollment process was unclear and led customers to unknowingly share sensitive location data [3] - FTC Chair Lina Khan stated that GM monitored and sold precise geolocation data and driver behavior information, sometimes as frequently as every three seconds, emphasizing the FTC's role in safeguarding consumer privacy [4] - GM has indicated that it has already taken steps to enhance consumer privacy, including discontinuing the Smart Driver program and ending relationships with third-party data brokers, and acknowledges that the FTC consent order includes new measures that exceed existing laws [5]