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GM Settles Privacy Case and Adds Consent to the Driver's Manual
· New York time
General Motors has agreed to pay $220 million to settle a multistate privacy case involving its Smart Driver program and the sharing of driving information. As part of the agreement, GM must obtain drivers' express consent before collecting or sharing their driving and location data. The settlement resolves claims brought by a coalition of state attorneys general. The underlying issue is a familiar one in connected products: a feature that gathers useful information about a customer's activity can also create valuable information about that customer. In a car, the activity happens to involve where someone goes and how they drive. The consent requirement puts a more visible decision between the driver and the collection or sharing of that data. It also gives the phrase connected car an extra meaning. The vehicle connects to services, but the information associated with a trip can extend beyond the trip itself. GM's payment settles the case; the agreement also sets conditions for future handling of the data. For drivers, the destination is familiar, but the paperwork now has a clearer stop along the route. The dashboard may already know where the car is going. The person behind the wheel should get a say in where the data goes.
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