Gm Banned From Selling Your Driving Data For Five Years

General Motors and its subsidiary OnStar are banned from trading customer geolocation and driving behaviour accusation for 5 years, nan Federal Trade Commission announced Thursday.

The colony comes aft a New York Times investigation recovered that GM had been collecting micro-details astir its customers’ driving habits, including acceleration, braking, and recreation magnitude — and past trading it to information companies and third-party accusation brokers for illustration LexisNexis and Verisk. Clueless conveyance owners were past adjacent wondering why their information premiums were going up. 

For example, 1 personification told a GM customer activity emblematic that “[w]hen I signed up for this, it was truthful OnStar could measurement me. They said point astir reporting it to a 3rd party. Nothing. […] You guys are affecting our bottommost line. I net you, now you’re making maine net overmuch to my information company.”

FTC accused GM of utilizing a “misleading enrollment process” to get conveyance owners to mobility up for its OnStar connected conveyance activity and Smart Driver feature. The automaker grounded to disclose to customers that it was collecting their data, nor did GM activity retired their consent to discarded it to 3rd parties. After nan Times exposed nan practice, GM said it was discontinuing its OnStar Smart Driver program.

“GM monitored and sold people’s precise geolocation accusation and driver behaviour information, sometimes arsenic often arsenic each 3 seconds,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said successful a statement. “With this action, nan FTC is safeguarding Americans’ privateness and protecting group from unchecked surveillance.”

The colony too requires GM to get consent from customers earlier collecting their driving behaviour data, and fto them to petition and delete their accusation if they choose.

GM said successful an unsigned connection that it was committed to customer privacy.