The agreement, announced on October 29, involves a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general representing 35 US states and the District of Columbia. It requires the Detroit-based carmaker to obtain explicit consumer consent before collecting or sharing sensitive driving information and introduces independent oversight of its data privacy practices.
The investigation centred on GM’s Smart Driver programme, which collected information about motorists between 2016 and 2024. Data included vehicle movements, journey times, hard braking, rapid acceleration, speeding, late-night driving and seat belt usage.
State authorities alleged that GM transferred detailed driving records to data brokers under commercial agreements specifying their use in insurance products. Those intermediaries subsequently supplied information to insurers, potentially influencing premiums without motorists understanding how their personal information was being distributed.
The settlement establishes stricter requirements governing data collection, disclosure and retention. GM must introduce a comprehensive privacy protection programme, undergo internal and external assessments, and strengthen procedures preventing dealerships from enrolling customers in monitoring services without permission.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and Washington Attorney General Nick Brown led the multistate investigation, supported by officials from several other jurisdictions.
Rayfield said motorists had purchased vehicles without expecting their movements to become commercial information. He argued that GM had promoted its monitoring service as a safety improvement while failing to disclose adequately how driving records could reach insurers.
GM acknowledged the agreement and emphasised that Smart Driver had been discontinued in 2024. The company said the settlement reinforced measures already undertaken to strengthen privacy practices and provide customers with clearer choices concerning personal information.
Investigators found that millions of motorists had been enrolled in Smart Driver, frequently during vehicle purchases at authorised dealerships. The programme was associated with OnStar, GM’s connected vehicle service offering navigation, emergency assistance and other features.
Authorities alleged that dealership employees sometimes accepted electronic terms and conditions on customers’ behalf without obtaining their consent. Financial incentives encouraged dealerships to increase enrolment in connected vehicle services, raising concerns about whether customers understood the arrangements.
The investigation also identified discrepancies between GM’s monitoring systems and information displayed to customers. More than 370,000 motorists were incorrectly informed through the OnStar application that they were not enrolled in Smart Driver, although their information was being collected and sold.
Regulators said GM subsequently removed those customers from the programme without notifying them of the error. Previously transferred information allegedly remained with data brokers and insurance companies.
The information supplied to intermediaries could identify individual vehicles and establish detailed patterns of driving behaviour. Records included journey starting and finishing times, driving frequency, speeding incidents and instances of sudden braking or acceleration.
Such information could affect insurance assessments even where motorists had made no claims. State investigators maintained that consumers were not adequately informed that information presented as a driving safety tool could be used commercially.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said motorists should not face undisclosed monitoring capable of affecting their insurance costs. Her office secured approximately $12.05 million under the settlement, while Michigan will receive approximately $7.21 million.
Oregon is allocated more than $10.4 million, Massachusetts approximately $5.7 million and Maryland approximately $7.33 million. The payments form part of the overall settlement rather than additional penalties.
The agreement does not provide direct restitution to affected motorists. A separate nationwide private class-action lawsuit seeking monetary compensation remains pending, leaving individual consumer claims outside the multistate resolution.
GM also faces restrictions arising from earlier regulatory action. A January 2025 agreement with the Federal Trade Commission barred certain disclosures of vehicle location and driving behaviour information to consumer reporting agencies for five years.
California separately reached a $12.75 million settlement with GM in May 2026 concerning allegations involving the sale of motorists’ information to data brokers.
Under the new multistate agreement, GM must seek deletion of previously disclosed driving information from relevant third parties, subject to legal exceptions. The company must also introduce dealership training materials within 60 days of the settlement taking effect, ensuring customers can review privacy disclosures and personally accept the applicable conditions before enrolling in OnStar services.
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