The FTC has banned GM from selling customer driving data for five years
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on Thursday that General Motors and its subsidiary OnStar are banned from selling data on customers' location and driving behaviour. The ban is set to last for five years.
Here's What We Know
A New York Times investigation found that GM collected data on its customers' driving habits, including acceleration, braking and trip length, and then sold it to insurance companies and third-party data brokers such as LexisNexis and Verisk. The insurance companies, in turn, revised the cost of premiums based on that data.
The FTC accused GM of using a "misleading sign-up process" to get vehicle owners to sign up for OnStar's connected vehicle service and Smart Driver feature. The automaker failed to tell customers that it was collecting their data and did not ask for their consent to sell the data to third parties. After reporters uncovered the practice, GM announced it was shutting down the OnStar Smart Driver programme.
FTC Chairman Lina Khan said GM tracked and sold accurate data about customers' location and driving patterns, sometimes with an update rate of up to three seconds. She emphasised that the FTC, through its decision, protected Americans' data privacy from uncontrolled surveillance.
The agreement also requires GM to obtain customers' consent before collecting data on their driving behaviour and allow them to request and delete their data at their discretion.
Source: The Verge
