Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a final order prohibiting General Motors (GM) from sharing consumers’ geolocation and driver behavior data with consumer reporting agencies for a period of five years, as stated in a Jan. 14 statement.
The FTC had filed a complaint against GM and its subsidiary OnStar LLC in January 2025.
GM was found to have “collected, used, and sold drivers’ precise geolocation data and driving behavior information from millions of vehicles—data that can impact insurance rates—without adequately informing consumers and obtaining their explicit consent,” the FTC reported.
GM was accused of misleading customers during the enrollment process for its OnStar connected vehicle service and the OnStar Smart Driver feature. The FTC stated that GM did not clearly disclose that collected information, such as speeding, late-night driving, and hard braking data, would be shared with third parties like consumer reporting agencies.
This data was used by reporting agencies to compile credit reports that were used by insurance companies to determine rates and coverage eligibility, leading the FTC to deem the tracking and collection of geolocation data as an invasion of privacy.
The five-year ban is part of the settlement agreement between the FTC and GM. The FTC stated that the ban is necessary due to GM’s significant breach of consumer trust. The order was directed at OnStar LLC, General Motors LLC, and General Motors Holdings LLC, all subsidiaries of General Motors Company.
Under the terms of the agreement, GM must obtain explicit consent from consumers before collecting, using, or sharing connected vehicle data for the next 20 years, except in specific situations such as providing location data to emergency services, as outlined by the FTC.
During this period, GM must allow U.S. customers to request their data, request data deletion, and opt out of geolocation and driver behavior data collection.
“The Federal Trade Commission has formally approved the agreement reached last year with General Motors to address concerns,” a GM spokesperson informed The Epoch Times on Jan. 15.
“As vehicle connectivity becomes increasingly integral to the driving experience, GM remains committed to protecting customer privacy, maintaining trust, and ensuring customers have a clear understanding of our practices.”
In a statement released on Jan. 16, 2025, GM announced the discontinuation of the Smart Driver program across all vehicles following customer feedback.
“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.”
GM affirmed its commitment to obtaining customer consent before collecting, using, or disclosing certain types of connected vehicle data, aligning with the FTC agreement.
Vehicle Data Collection
Other auto manufacturers also admit to collecting driver data as part of their privacy policies.
For example, Honda’s data privacy practices webpage reveal that the company gathers geolocation and driver behavior data.
Driver behavior data includes information such as vehicle speed, acceleration, deceleration, pedal positions, engine speed, direction of travel, steering angle, and more, according to Honda.
In a Jan. 6 statement, Toyota disclosed that it collects precise vehicle location within 1,850 feet, clarifying that the data is not used for marketing purposes or shared with third parties.
According to Kia’s privacy policy, the company collects geolocation data and other vehicle information that may be shared with third parties for various purposes, including crash notification assistance and determining driving score for insurance purposes.
In April, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) introduced the Connected Vehicle National Security Review Act to address potential national security threats posed by connected vehicles or components from certain countries, such as China, as stated in an April 10, 2025, statement.
“Chinese vehicles, which are dirt cheap thanks to state subsidies, could collect full motion video of sensitive sites, 3-D mapping, and geolocation of individual drivers—all of which could be sent back to Beijing,” Slotkin expressed.
The bill was referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs in June 2025.
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