New York and 35 other state and district attorneys general have reached a $220 million settlement with General Motors over the collection and sale of detailed driving and location information. The New York attorney general's office said the state will receive $12,054,341. The agreement also requires GM to reduce certain data collection and operate new internal and independent privacy-assessment programs rather than treating the payment as the only remedy.
The multistate investigation focused on GM's Smart Driver program between 2016 and 2024. According to the attorney general, the program recorded information such as when trips began and ended, how often a vehicle was driven, rapid acceleration or braking, and whether a driver exceeded the speed limit. More than 700,000 New York drivers were enrolled. The resulting records were identifiable and tied to individual trips rather than limited to broad, anonymous trends.
State investigators concluded that GM provided the information to data brokers under agreements permitting its use in insurance products. Those brokers then made driving reports available to insurers, which could consider the information when setting premiums. The enforcement case centered on whether customers understood and consented to that chain. GM had presented Smart Driver as a safety tool and said insurance sharing would require express permission, according to the state's account.
Enrollment practices at dealerships were another part of the investigation. The attorney general said customers often joined Smart Driver while signing up for OnStar, sometimes after dealership employees accepted terms on their behalf. GM also used incentives connected to enrollment in its connected-vehicle services. The settlement therefore reaches beyond a privacy notice on a phone screen and requires oversight and training aimed at the point where a customer first activates vehicle services.
The investigation also identified incorrect account information. The state said GM's OnStar application told more than 370,000 drivers they were not enrolled in Smart Driver even though their information was being collected and sold. GM later removed those customers from the program, but the state said previously shared records remained with brokers and insurers. That finding illustrates why a privacy dashboard must accurately reflect what a company's systems are doing, not merely display a preference setting.
Under the agreement, GM must establish a comprehensive privacy program, limit covered data practices and conduct both internal and third-party assessments. Dealership supervision and training are included because consent can fail before data reaches the automaker's servers. The participating governments can use the settlement terms as an enforcement baseline. The public release does not mean every individual driver will receive a direct payment, and consumers should not assume that the state's share is a claims fund.
Connected cars can provide navigation, diagnostics, emergency assistance and maintenance information, but the same sensors can produce a detailed account of movement and behavior. Consumers should review connected-service settings, request available privacy information and distinguish a vehicle feature from a separate data-sharing program. Deleting an application may not cancel an account. Drivers should use the manufacturer's official privacy controls and retain confirmation when changing or ending a service.
The settlement is significant because it links vehicle telemetry to ordinary consumer-protection duties. A company that collects driving data must accurately explain enrollment, downstream use and available controls. For New Yorkers, the immediate result is a state payment exceeding $12 million and new limits on GM's practices. The longer-term test will be whether the required assessments and dealer controls prevent hidden enrollment and make connected-vehicle data choices understandable before information leaves the car.
Primary sources: Office of the New York Attorney General. Reviewed October 31, 2026. Development: October 29, 2026.