GM to pay $220 million after selling customer Smart Driver data

General Motors has reached a settlement with the District of Columbia and 35 states after selling customer data to insurance companies without consent. The company had marketed its Smart Driver system as a way for parents to monitor teen drivers or adults to track their driving behavior, but was sharing the data with brokers who sold it to insurance companies, leading to higher insurance costs for some drivers. The settlement prohibits GM and its OnStar subsidiary from sharing geolocation and driver behavior data for five years, and requires a third party to assess GM's compliance with a new privacy program. GM has also discontinued the Smart Driver system across its entire range. GM claims that connected vehicle data enables safer and more personalized experiences, and that it is committed to being clear about what information is used and protected, as well as giving customers choices about what they share.