Downward angle icon Downward angle icon. GMC was named in a letter from Democratic senators calling for an FTC investigation. Justin Sullivan/Getty The senators called on the FTC to investigate how some automakers secretly share driver data. The two senators named General Motors, Honda and Hyundai in their letter calling for action to the FTC. They accused the companies of sharing driving data and location information under the guise of lower rates.
If you feel like someone is always watching you, it might be your swanky new GMC.
The lawmakers are calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate automakers including General Motors (maker of GMC, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Buick), Honda, and Hyundai for secretly sharing driver data with data brokers. They called on the FTC to “hold the companies and their senior executives accountable” if they violated the law.
“The FTC should hold accountable automakers who shared their customers’ data with data brokers without informed consent, and data brokers who resell data that was not obtained through lawful means,” Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Ed Markey wrote in a letter to the FTC.
General Motors, Honda and Hyundai each shared driver “acceleration and braking data” with brokers, and General Motors disclosed “customer location data” to at least two companies, the senators wrote. They accused the companies of not seeking customers’ consent to share the data or using opaque tactics to get drivers to opt in, such as implying the data would “only lower your premiums” when in fact it could lead to higher premiums.
“GM shared large amounts of anonymized location data from GM vehicles with unnamed commercial partners that GM executives could not identify,” GM executives said in a conference call with Wyden’s office in 2021.
“During the oversight call, GM confirmed that it did not seek informed consent from consumers to share this data, and company executives told Senator Wyden’s staff that the only way consumers could opt out of sharing their data was to completely disable their vehicle’s internet connection,” the FTC letter said.
Earlier this year, the FTC targeted data brokers for collecting consumers’ location data through mobile phone apps and selling it without their consent.
Officials at GM and Honda did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A Hyundai spokesperson told Business Insider that the senators’ letter to the FTC “misinterprets Hyundai’s data policies and the safeguards it has put in place to ensure customers consent to sharing driving behavior information with insurance companies.”