Utah and other states reach $220 million settlement with GM over driver data
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Utah Attorney General Derek Brown, the Utah Department of Commerce’s Division of Consumer Protection, and 35 other attorneys general reached a $220 million settlement with General Motors (GM) over allegations that the automaker sold drivers’ driving behavior and location data without their consent. Utah will receive $6,938,619 from the settlement.
According to the states, GM sold driver data, including specific geolocation data, to data brokers in violation of Utah consumer protection and privacy laws. The data brokers then sold this data to insurance companies that used it, in part, to set insurance rates. The settlement requires GM to get drivers’ affirmative express consent before collecting or sharing their driving and location data.
“Your driving data tells the story of your life: your commute, your errands, the route to your kids’ school, even the time you get home at night. That story belongs to you. Drivers should never have to wonder whether that information is being collected or passed along without their knowledge. This settlement protects Utahns’ privacy and puts them back in the driver’s seat, with the final say over who sees their data,” said Attorney General Brown.
From 2016 to 2024, GM’s Smart Driver program tracked enrolled drivers’ habits. According to the states, GM told drivers the program would help them drive more safely and that it would not share their data with insurers without consent. The states allege GM instead sold the data to brokers under contracts specifying it would be used for insurance products.
Most drivers were enrolled at the dealership through a single sign-up process that also covered GM’s OnStar services. The states say that, in many cases, dealership employees accepted terms on customers’ behalf without their consent, and GM paid sales staff bonuses tied in part to enrollment numbers.
GM’s own systems failed to notify drivers about whether their data was being tracked. The OnStar app mistakenly told over 370,000 drivers that they were not enrolled in Smart Driver, when they actually were enrolled, and GM was collecting and selling their data. GM later quietly unenrolled these over 370,000 drivers without telling them about the mistake and left their data with the data brokers and insurance companies.
“Utahns deserve clear information about how their sensitive data will be used before they sign, and the ability to opt out,” said Utah Department of Commerce Commissioner Margaret Woolley Busse. “Misrepresenting this data use is a significant breach of trust that cannot be overlooked. It’s wrong to obscure this or bypass their consent for profit or personal gain.”
According to the states, the data showed how often a person drove, trip start and end times, hard braking and acceleration, and speeding. The New York Times reported in March 2024 that insurers used the data to change rates, sometimes raising premiums. GM discontinued Smart Driver after the report.
The settlement also requires GM to:
- limit the driving data it collects;
- maintain a data privacy program with internal and external assessments;
- train and oversee dealership staff on consent.
Washington and Oregon co-led the coalition of state attorneys general. The executive committee included Utah, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Vermont. The attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawai’i, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, and Wisconsin also joined the settlement.
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