Federal Trade Commission × General Motors, LLC / OnStar, LLC
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a complaint and proposed order against General Motors and its OnStar division in January 2025. The action settled allegations that GM collected and sold precise geolocation and driving behavior data from millions of vehicles via its OnStar Smart Driver feature without obtaining consumers' affirmative consent. While a related California state settlement in 2026 included a $12.75 million penalty, the FTC order did not carry a monetary penalty but imposed a five-year ban on GM sharing this type of data with consumer reporting agencies.
The asset
A settlement resolving allegations that the company collected, used, and sold consumers' precise geolocation and driving behavior data without adequate notification and consent.
The record
- Seller status
- Going concern
- Sector
- automotive
- Modalities
- geolocation_data, driver_behavior_data
- Jurisdiction
- US
- Personal data
- The settlement prohibits the seller from sharing certain consumer data with consumer reporting agencies for five years and requires obtaining affirmative express consent before collecting, using, or sharing connected vehicle data.
What it means if you hold data
This was a significant federal enforcement action in the connected vehicle space, establishing a baseline for consent and transparency in how automotive OEMs handle and monetize driver data. The order's focus on prohibiting sales to consumer reporting agencies directly impacts the flow of telematics data to the insurance industry.