General Motors to Compensate Alaska Over $2.5 Million in Consumer Data Case

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The state of Alaska is one of 36 states that have reached a settlement with General Motors concerning allegations of the unlawful sale of consumer private data, as reported by the Alaska Department of Law. Under the terms of the settlement, GM will pay a total of $220 million, with Alaska receiving $2,508,118.

In addition to the financial settlement, GM is mandated to obtain explicit consent from consumers before collecting or sharing their driving and location data. The department revealed that between 2016 and 2024, GM enrolled millions in its Smart Driver program to monitor driving behaviors, ostensibly to promote safer driving. Although GM assured users that their data would not be shared with insurers without consent, an investigation discovered that it was sold to data brokers for insurance-related uses. Furthermore, GM’s OnStar app incorrectly informed over 370,000 users about their enrollment status, leading to unauthorized unenrollment of drivers. Following a critical New York Times article on the program, GM discontinued it. The settlement also enforces stricter data collection practices and requires GM to enhance privacy training at its dealerships.