On February 26, 2025, the Attorney General of Arkansas filed a lawsuit against General Motors Co. (“GM”) and its subsidiary, OnStar LLC (“OnStar”), alleging deceptive trade practices related to the collection and sale of drivers’ data. The complaint alleges that GM and OnStar gathered detailed driving data (including precise geolocation data, GM app usage data, and information about consumers’ driving behavior (e.g., start time, end time, vehicle speed, high-speed driving percentage, late-night driving percentage, acceleration data, braking data, and distance driven)) from over 100,000 Arkansas residents without their consent and sold it to third-party data brokers. The data brokers then allegedly sold the data to insurance companies, which used the data to deny coverage or increase insurance rates for consumers. The complaint asserts that GM and OnStar collected and sold the consumer data to generate additional revenue for the companies. The Arkansas Attorney General is seeking monetary damages, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees and expenses.
This lawsuit follows actions by the FTC and the Texas Attorney General over similar data-sharing allegations, and is part of a larger trend of state regulators examining the privacy practices of connected vehicle manufacturers.