FTC Rules General Motors Sold Consumer Data Without Consent

The Federal Trade Commission has finalized an order with General Motors Co. in Detroit and OnStar settling allegations that they collected, used, and sold consumers’ precise geolocation data and driving behavior data from millions of vehicles without adequately notifying consumers and obtaining their affirmative consent.

Under the order finalized by the FTC, General Motors, General Motors Holdings, and OnStar (collectively GM), which are owned by General Motors Co., are prohibited from sharing certain consumer data with consumer reporting agencies.

They also are required to take steps to provide greater transparency and choice to consumers over the collection, use, and disclosure of their connected vehicle data.

In a complaint first announced in January 2025, the FTC alleged GM used a misleading enrollment process to get consumers to sign up for its OnStar connected vehicle service and OnStar Smart Driver feature.

The FTC also alleged GM failed to clearly disclose it collected consumers’ precise geolocation and driving behavior data via the Smart Driver feature and sold it to third parties without consumers’ consent.

The final order approved by the Commission imposes a five-year ban on GM disclosing consumers’ geolocation and driver behavior data to consumer reporting agencies. This fencing-in relief is appropriate given GM’s egregious betrayal of consumers’ trust, according to the FTC.

For the entire 20-year life of the order, GM will be required to:

• Obtain affirmative express consent from consumers prior to collecting, using, or sharing connected vehicle data (including sharing data with consumer reporting agencies), with some exceptions such as for providing location data to emergency first responders;
• Create a way for all U.S. consumers to request a copy of their data and seek its deletion;
• Give consumers the ability to disable the collection of precise geolocation data from their vehicles if their vehicle has the necessary technology; and
• Provide a way for consumers to opt out of the collection of geolocation and driver behavior data, with some limited exceptions.

The Commission voted 2-0 to approve the final order and complaint as well as provide responses to commenters.

To access the order, visit here.

The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition and protect and educate consumers.