- FTC says GM sold location and driving data without clear consent.
- Order bars sharing with reporting agencies for full five years.
- Drivers can opt out and request old data about them be deleted.
If you’ve ever had the creeping suspicion that your car, and the company behind it, knows more about you than it probably should, you’re not imagining things. But the pushback has already started. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has just slapped a ban on GM preventing it from selling data and giving us the option of stopping it collecting intel in the first place.
The biggest headline is a five year ban on GM and its OnStar telematics division from sharing geolocation and driving behavior data with consumer reporting agencies.
More: Nearly Every Automaker Is Selling Your Data
The ruling comes after the companies were found to have gathered data and sold geolocation information from millions of vehicles without properly informing drivers or getting clear permission.
This all traces back to a complaint first announced in January 2025. US regulators allege GM used a misleading enrollment process to sign consumers up for OnStar services and the OnStar Smart Driver feature. It then failed to clearly disclose that it was collecting precise location and driving behavior data and selling it to third parties without consent.
20-year Wrist Slap
The order doesn’t stop with the five-year ban. For the next 20 years, GM has to play things much straighter, getting affirmative express consent before collecting, using, or sharing certain connected vehicle data, with limited exceptions like emergency response.
It also has to offer a way for all US consumers to request a copy of their data and to ask for it to be deleted, and must additionally give consumers the ability to disable precise geolocation collection if the vehicle supports it.
Not the Only Villain
GM scrapped its OnStar Smart Driver service in April 2024, as news that driver data was being sold to third parties, including data brokers that supplied information to insurers, was hitting the headlines.
Over the past year, GM has been hit with several lawsuits over its data collection practices from different states, including Texas and Nebraska.
Also: GM Faces New Lawsuit For Secretly Selling Your Driving Data
But it’s not the only automaker accused of nefarious data-related activities. Hyundai and Kia were sued in 2024 for selling data to insurers.
“The Federal Trade Commission has formally approved the agreement reached last year with General Motors to address concerns,” GM said in a statement.
“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.”
