FTC Order Bans GM From Disclosing Data From Connected Vehicles

General Motors agreed to a proposed order to resolve Federal Trade Commission allegations that it collected, used and sold data from connected cars without drivers’ knowledge or consent.

The information included drivers’ precise geolocation data, which disclosed things like visits to medical facilities, and their driving behavior, such as hard braking, late-night driving and speeding, the FTC said in a Thursday (Jan. 16) press release.

Under the proposed order, GM and its OnStar business will be banned from disclosing that information to consumer reporting agencies for five years and will be required to obtain consumers’ consent before collecting connect vehicle data, create a way for consumers to obtain and delete their data, and allow consumers to opt out of the collection of data from their vehicles, according to the release.

This is the first action the FTC has taken that involves connected vehicle data, per the release.

“GM monitored and sold people’s precise geolocation data and driver behavior information, sometimes as often as every three seconds,” FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said in the release. “With this action, the FTC is safeguarding Americans’ privacy and protecting people from unchecked surveillance.”

In a statement posted on its website Thursday, GM said it ended the program addressed in the FTC’s complaint — Smart Driver — in 2024 due to customer feedback.

The company said in the statement that it also ended its third-party telematics relationships with LexisNexis and Verisk and consolidated many of its U.S. privacy statements into a “single, simpler statement.”

“The FTC consent order includes new measures that go above and beyond existing law, while capturing steps we’ve already taken to establish choices for customer data collection and communications about how the information is used,” the statement said. “As part of the agreement, GM will obtain affirmative customer consent to collect, use or disclose certain types of connected vehicle data (with exceptions for certain purposes).”

When announcing in April that it was discontinuing the Smart Driver program that shared connected car data, GM said in a press release that it had “heard feedback from many customers” about the program over the previous several weeks.

In August, the automaker laid off more than 1,000 salaried employees in Software and Services — its division focused on OnStar and other emerging features — saying it must “prioritize the investments that will have the greatest impact.”

On Tuesday (Jan. 14), it was reported that GM was among the automakers calling for a delay in the U.S. government’s impending ban on certain car parts from China and Russia that includes components that are critical for connectivity.