Connecticut will receive at least $6 million as part of a multistate settlement with General Motors over drivers’ private data
GM was accused of selling driving behavior and location data that insurance companies then used to set rates
Attorney General William Tong said the case was one of the state’s first actions under the Connecticut Data Privacy Act
Connecticut is one of 36 states expected to receive a settlement worth at least $6 million after General Motors settled a lawsuit filed against it after the motor vehicle company was accused of selling private driving data to third parties.
Connecticut’s settlement is part of a $220 million agreement from the motor vehicle company, Attorney General William Tong’s office reported. General Motors was accused of selling driver behavior and location data, which was then resold to insurance companies and used to set their insurance rates.
According to Tong’s office, GM enrolled millions of drivers in its Smart Driver program, which it presented as a tool to improve driving safety. An investigation found GM sold that information to data brokers, who then sold it to insurance companies that used it to set rates.
“GM turned private vehicles into mobile insurance surveillance machines without consumer consent or awareness,” Tong said. “GM profited from the sale of this personal driving data, and consumers paid the price in the form of higher premiums. This was an egregious violation of privacy, and this investigation was one of Connecticut’s very first actions under the Connecticut Data Privacy Act.”
The Data Privacy Act, passed in 2022 and took effect in 2023. A provision requiring businesses operating in Connecticut to honor consumers’ universal opt-out requests took effect in 2025.
GM collected data including how often someone drove, how long each drive took, whether they sped and whether they braked or accelerated quickly, Tong’s office said. More than 100,000 Connecticut residents may have been impacted by the sold data.
According to Seeking Alpha, a financial and investing publication, GM was accused of “aggressively” pushing dealerships to sign up as many customers as possible to the Smart Driver program, which was often bundled with the common vehicle safety service OnStar.
At least 370,000 drivers were told they were not enrolled in Smart Driver, and GM continued holding onto drivers’ data even after they were removed from the program, Tong’s office said.
Under the settlement, GM was required to limit the data it collects from consumers and protect their personal information, according to Tong’s office.
By Joe O’Leary
