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GM to pay $220 million to settle data-sharing claims
A separate $12.75 million deal with California brings the total to $232.75 million, and GM will change how it turns on and manages tracking.
30 Oct 2026 0 reads Compiled with AI
General Motors has agreed to pay $220 million to settle claims from 36 state attorneys general that it collected and sold drivers' data without clear consent. The claims center on OnStar Smart Driver, a program GM ended in 2024. The money will be split among the states that brought the suit. The deal also requires GM to change how it turns on and manages connected-vehicle tracking.
How the Data Was Collected
The states say GM tracked millions of drivers from 2016 to 2024. The data included high-resolution location points and measures such as trip length, harsh braking, rapid acceleration and speed. Most customers were enrolled when they bought a car, often through a single sign-up that also activated OnStar services. Many drivers were not told that a third party would receive their data. Connecticut's attorney general's office says more than 10 million Americans were in the program during that period.
According to the attorneys general, dealership employees in many cases accepted the program's terms on customers' behalf. The OnStar app wrongly told over 370,000 drivers they were not enrolled in Smart Driver when they were. GM kept collecting and selling those drivers' data the whole time, then quietly unenrolled them without telling them about the mistake.
Settlement Terms and Changes
Under the settlement, GM must set up an affirmative opt-in process before activating tracking and follow data-minimization standards. It must run independent compliance audits of its dealership delivery workflows and request the deletion of data shared with third parties before January 16, 2025. Drivers must be allowed to disable location services. A new privacy program must stay in effect until 2046. Michigan will receive more than $7 million of the $220 million.
The California agreement, reached in May, settled a state investigation into the sale of driver data to two brokers. Together the deals total $232.75 million. The agreements do not admit wrongdoing, and GM says they reinforce steps it has already taken on privacy. The changes aim to make data collection more transparent and to stop bundled enrollment without explicit consent.
