The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reached a settlement with General Motors Co. and its subsidiary OnStar regarding the collection and sale of driving behaviour data from millions of vehicles in the U.S., including precise geolocation data, without proper consent. Announced in a proposed order on January 16, the settlement marks the FTC’s first action involving connected vehicle data.
Under the proposed agreement, GM is prohibited from sharing sensitive data with consumer reporting agencies for five years and must enhance transparency about how it collects, uses, and shares connected vehicle data. This development comes shortly after the Department of Commerce finalised a rule banning vehicle software and hardware from China and Russia, citing national security risks related to data collection from U.S. citizens.