It’s official: General Motors just got slapped by the FTC for being way too nosy and way too eager to cash in on it. Turns out, GM and its OnStar service weren’t just there to call for roadside assistance—they were quietly collecting absurdly detailed data on your driving habits, like how hard you hit the brakes, how fast you drove, and whether you were cruising past midnight like a wannabe Vin Diesel. Then, they sold that data to insurance companies and third-party brokers like LexisNexis and Verisk without your consent.

(Source: Giphy) 

The result? Higher insurance premiums for drivers who had no idea they were getting financially violated for their lead-foot tendencies—-all while GM was also hawking your geolocation data every three seconds, just in case anyone wanted to know exactly when you hit up Taco Bell for a midnight Chalupa.

For this reason, the Federal Trade Commission wasn’t having it. On Thursday, the agency announced a proposed order that bans GM and OnStar from selling driving behavior and location data for five years. That’s five years of GM sitting in the regulatory time-out corner, thinking about what they’ve done. 

(Source: TechCrunch) 

This had FTC Chair Lina Khan calling out GM for using a “misleading enrollment process” to get customers to sign up for OnStar’s Smart Driver feature. The pitch was all about helping you drive safer and improve your car’s performance—what they didn’t mention was the part where they’d be selling your precious data for a payoff. Now with that said, we’re not just talking about annoying insurance hikes here. Geolocation data can reveal some seriously personal details—like where you live, where you work, and whether you’ve been to a doctor’s office, a church, or, say, an abortion clinic. In the wrong hands, that data is a privacy nightmare waiting to happen.

Of course, after The New York Times blew the lid off this data-harvesting operation, GM scrambled to clean up its act. In a statement, the automaker said it had already ended the Smart Driver program, unenrolled customers, and stopped selling telematics data to companies like LexisNexis and Verisk. They even rolled out a new, simplified privacy statement last September (because nothing screams a sorry a$$ apology like a reworded terms and conditions page). 

(Source: The Verge) 

However, GM’s also trying its best to sound committed to privacy—because, you know, they kind of have to now. They’ve promised to give customers in all 50 states the ability to access and delete their data. But still, to me this just feels like someone stealing your wallet, buying a bunch of stuff, and then handing you back the empty wallet with a smile LOL.

What’s more is that the FTC’s proposed order is a rare win for privacy advocates, who’ve been screaming into the void about how companies sell your data like it’s a commodity. The order, which is subject to a 30-day public comment period before it’s finalized, will also require GM to get explicit consent from customers before collecting any vehicle data in the future. And if customers want to delete their data? GM has to let them. 

Every GM Owner Now (Source: Giphy) 

So yeah, in the end, GM’s little side hustle of selling your driving data just got sidelined, and for good reason. The FTC’s crackdown sends a loud and clear message: If you’re going to collect data, you better play by the rules—or face the consequences.

For drivers, the news is a mixed bag. Sure, it’s a win for privacy, but it’s also a reminder of just how much personal information is up for grabs every time you fire up your car. And for GM? Well, between this and pulling the plug on its $10 billion autonomous car unit Cruise, it’s safe to say 2025 isn’t starting out that great for them (even though the stock is up 47% over the last 12 months). 

(Source: Giphy)

In the meantime though, keep your eyes on how this issue will play an impact on GM’s stock next week, and place your bets accordingly. As always, stay safe and stay frosty, friends! Until next time…

P.S. GM has to sell your data to gain a competitive edge—-I use Stocks.News to gain a competitive edge, we are not the same. Join us on the winning side, and get access to a swath of tools that makes real-time analysis and deciphering the market as simple as ever. Oh and did I mentioned we are ranked the #23 BEST App (not just finance) on the App Store? Bigly. Click here to join us and see just how real the hype is… 

Stocks.News does not hold positions in companies mentioned in the article.