General Motors to Pay $220 Million for Selling Driver Data to Insurers

General Motors has agreed to pay $220 million to settle a multistate lawsuit alleging the automaker sold private driving behavior and location data to data brokers. Oregon and Washington led a coalition of 36 attorneys general that brought the claims against the company.

Millions of drivers enrolled in GM’s Smart Driver program between 2016 and 2024, with most signing up at dealerships when purchasing their vehicles. The program could be enrolled alongside OnStar, GM’s subscription-based security and safety service.

“People bought a car, not a tracking device.”

Attorneys general said GM’s systems did not notify drivers whether their data was being tracked. They also said the collected data was personal, identifiable, and specific, and that contracts specified the data would be used for insurance products.

According to the attorneys general, the OnStar app told 370,000 drivers they were not enrolled in the Smart Driver program when they actually were. GM later quietly unenrolled those drivers without informing them of the mistake but left their data with insurance companies and data brokers.

Vermont will receive $4.5 million from the nationwide settlement. Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark said GM collected data from tens of thousands of Vermonters and sold it without consent, leading some drivers to pay higher insurance rates.

The settlement was reached before the coalition formally filed a lawsuit and expressly states that GM does not admit to breaking any law. A company spokesperson said GM discontinued the Smart Driver program in 2024 and has taken steps to strengthen its privacy practices.