Attorney General Formella Announces $220 Million Settlement with General Motors for Sharing Drivers’ Private Data

Concord, NH - Attorney General John M. Formella announces that General Motors (GM) will pay $220 million to settle allegations that it improperly sold consumers' driving behavior and location data to third parties, including data brokers that provided the information to insurance companies. Insurers used the data, in part, to set or adjust consumers' insurance rates. New Hampshire joined a coalition of 36 attorneys general in the case. Under the settlement, New Hampshire will receive $2,842,796. The settlement also requires GM to obtain consumers' affirmative, express consent before collecting or disclosing their driving and location data.

"Consumers should have a clear understanding of what information is being collected about them, how it will be used, and with whom it may be shared," said Attorney General Formella. "New Hampshire drivers should not have to worry that personal information collected through their vehicles' connected services could be used to influence their insurance rates without their knowledge and consent. This settlement reinforces the importance of transparency, accountability, and protecting consumers' privacy."

From 2016 to 2024, GM enrolled millions of drivers in their Smart Driver program, which tracked their driving habits. GM pitched this tool as a way for drivers to improve their own driving safety and told drivers that they would not share their data with insurers without express consent.

However, the coalition found that GM sold this information to data brokers under contracts that specified the data was to be used for insurance products. The data brokers sold the data to insurance companies, who could then change the driver's premium based on their driving habits. GM did not disclose to drivers that their data would be sold for this purpose.

Most customers who signed up for Smart Driver did so at the GM dealership when they bought their car. GM used one sign-up process for drivers to enroll in Smart Driver along with GM's OnStar services. In many cases, dealership employees allegedly accepted terms and conditions on behalf of customers without their consent. At the time, GM was heavily incentivizing dealerships to sign up as many customers for OnStar as possible. Sales employees received bonuses based in part on how many customers they signed up for GM's connected vehicle services and dealerships were ranked based on their 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 consumers 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 consumers without telling them about the mistake and left their data with the data brokers and insurance companies.

The data GM sold was personal, identifiable, and specific. Insurers had data showing how many times a person drove their vehicle, the start and end times of each drive, how many times they braked or accelerated quickly, and whether they went faster than the speed limit. As documented in the New York Times, insurance companies then used this information to change rates, sometimes increasing their premiums. After the Times reported on these practices, GM discontinued the Smart Driver program.

The settlement also requires GM to limit the driving data it collects from consumers and protect their personal information going forward as part of a comprehensive data privacy program. The terms secured by the coalition are significantly stronger than any other resolution reached with GM for this conduct including by mandating internal and external data protection and privacy program assessments. GM also agreed to oversight and training requirements at their dealerships to protect consumers against being enrolled in data collection schemes without their consent.

Joining New Hampshire in this case were the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The New Hampshire Department of Justice Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau investigates unfair, deceptive, or unreasonable practices involving New Hampshire consumers. To file a complaint with the New Hampshire Department of Justice, visit https://www.doj.nh.gov/consumer/complaints.

GM - Complaint
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GM - Judgment
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WGC Notice of Appearance
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