General Motors has agreed to pay $220 million to settle claims that it illegally sold driver and location information to data brokers, as reported earlier by Reuters. The agreement, which resolves a complaint from a coalition of 36 US attorneys general, requires GM to limit the driving data it collects and obtain “express consent” from drivers before collecting their information.
The allegations surround GM’s now-discontinued Smart Driver program, which collected data about driving habits, including acceleration, braking, and trip length. GM allegedly passed this information to data brokers, enabling insurance companies to purchase the data and raise premiums. The states also accused GM of failing to notify drivers that they were enrolled in its Smart Driver program, and that the carmaker was collecting their data.
This settlement comes just months after GM agreed to pay $12.75 million to settle similar claims in California. Oregon AG Dan Rayfield and Washington AG Nick Brown co-led the states’ case against GM, which also included New York, Florida, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and many others.
“People bought a car, not a tracking device,” Rayfield says in a press release. “GM told drivers this program would help them drive more safely and promised it wouldn’t share their data with insurers without permission. Our investigation found GM sold that data anyway, and some drivers paid for it with higher premiums.”