The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a 20-year order against General Motors and its OnStar division following allegations of secretly collecting and selling driver trip data. According to the regulator, the automaker gathered precise geolocation and driving behavior information—including hard braking—sometimes as frequently as every three seconds.

The FTC states that the OnStar Smart Driver feature was activated through a misleading process: users believed the service was for assessing driving habits, but data was shared with brokers and consumer reporting agencies without clear consent. This information then reached insurance companies and could impact policy costs and coverage terms.

For instance, one Chevrolet Camaro owner saw their insurance payment increase by 80% after 603 trip records were shared.

Under the order, GM is barred for five years from sharing location and driving style data with consumer reporting agencies. Going forward, the company must obtain explicit consent for collecting and transmitting telematics, and provide drivers with options to view, delete data, and disable precise tracking. This marks the FTC's first case involving connected vehicle data.